USC Verdugo Hills Hospital nationally recognized with first ‘A’ hospital safety grade

LOS ANGELES — For the first time, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital (USC-VHH) earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, for achieving the highest national standards in patient safety. This achievement places USC-VHH among top tier hospitals in the nation for safety and quality.  

“Our entire staff is dedicated to improving and upholding the highest standards of patient care,” said Mary Virgallito, MSN, RN, chief quality officer at USC-VHH. “This score reinforces our ongoing efforts to implement the most current, evidence-based practices for patient safety and outcomes.” 

The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades to general hospitals throughout the U.S. based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.  

“We are proud of the unwavering commitment of our staff in ensuring safety and quality care for our patients and will continue striving to ensure that this is the first ‘A’ grade of many,” said Armand Dorian, MD, MMM, CEO of USC-VHH.  

USC-VHH recently employed several initiatives to improve quality and patient safety. The hospital has maintained rigorous infection prevention programs and has dedicated staff providing specialized 24-hour care for inpatients, intensive care and labor and delivery through its hospitalist, intensivist and laborist programs.  

The Leapfrog Group grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. To see USC-VHH’s full grade details and access hospital safety tips for patients, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org. 

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For more information about USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, please visit news.KeckMedicine.org.