Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Earns Top Scores for Patient Safety

Hospital safety records examined by The Leapfrog Group show that Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo once again ranks high in limiting patient injuries, reducing medical errors and preventing infections

Vallejo Medical Center is among 18 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California to receive the top score of “A” by the Leapfrog Group in its annual safety report, which examined and graded more than 2,500 hospitals throughout the United States.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, released its Hospital Safety Scores after examining publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors and infections at U.S.  hospitals, which were then assigned A, B, C, D, or F grades for their safety records.

"Kaiser Permanente is proud to have our hard work and dedication to exceptional health care with high safety standards recognized. This score demonstrates our continued commitment to providing the best care to the people of Solano County,” said Max Villalobos, hospital administrator/CEO for Kaiser Permanente’s Napa Solano Area.

The Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center was not yet open during part of Leapfrog’s survey reporting period, but the safety record is evident, as it was honored with a “Top Hospital” designation by the Leapfrog Group for the past two years. 

“Recognition for our outstanding clinical excellence and quality highlights the superiority of Kaiser Permanente's integrated patient care,” said Steven Stricker, MD, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente Napa Solano. “Earning this hospital score demonstrates what sets Kaiser Permanente apart from other hospitals and is a tribute to the exceptional skill of our physicians and staff."

Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California with “A” scores were:  Antioch, Fremont, Fresno, Hayward, Manteca, Modesto, Redwood City, Richmond, Sacramento, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, South Sacramento, South San Francisco, and Walnut Creek.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded in 2000 to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability.  It is an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. Since 2006, the organization has published an annual list of Top Hospitals in the U.S. using national measures of health-care quality, safety and efficiency. This is the second year it has published the Hospital Safety Scores, which uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors.

To see all hospital scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety Score website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Local hospitals’ scores are also available on the free mobile app, available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.