Billings Clinic Earns An ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group
New Grade for spring 2024 is a national recognition for patient safety.
Billings, MT – Billings Clinic had again earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog that upholds and sets standards of excellent patient care and safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This national distinction celebrates Billings Clinic’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors.
“Earning a Leapfrog ‘A’ grade highlights our commitment to quality and hard work across Billings Clinic, along with the focus from so many people here to always look at how we can improve,” said John Schallenkamp, MD, Billings Clinic Chief Quality Officer. “We are incredibly proud of this achievement, not because of the grade itself but because it reflects the work and commitment to safe, quality care required to achieve it. Most importantly, it helps us to identify opportunities for continuous improvement with a constant focus on safety and quality.”
Billings Clinic was one of just three hospitals in Montana to earn a Leapfrog “A” grade in the spring 2024 ratings. It was also named by U.S. News and World Report as the #1 hospital in Montana in the 2023-2024 Best Hospitals report and has been awarded consecutive U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) 5-star Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating in 2022 and 2023. This 5-star rating is the highest designation available for hospitals from CMS and aims to provide information to consumers to help them make informed choices about where to get their health care.
Leapfrog assigns grades to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.
“Everyone who works at Billings Clinic should be proud of this ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It takes complete dedication of at every level, and an ironclad commitment to putting patients first. I thank Billings Clinic, its leadership, clinicians, staff, and volunteers for caring so deeply for its patients and their safety.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day nationally. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
To see Billings Clinic’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram and via The Leapfrog Group newsletter.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. For more, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.
About Billings Clinic
Billings Clinic and Logan Health are united as a not-for-profit, Montana-based, independent health care system focused on keeping people close to home and connecting care in communities throughout the region. The unified health system serves an area that includes most of Montana, northern Wyoming and the western Dakotas. A not-for-profit organization led by a physician CEO, Billings Clinic is governed by a board of community members, nurses and physicians. At its core, Billings Clinic is a physician-led, integrated multispecialty group practice with a 336-bed hospital and Montana’s first Level I Trauma Center. Billings Clinic is the largest trauma center and the first established and longest standing ACS-COT continually accredited trauma center in the state of Montana. Billings Clinic has more than 4,500 employees, including nearly 600 physicians and advanced practitioners offering more than 80 specialties. Billings Clinic is the first Magnet-designated health care organization in Montana and a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. More information can be found at www.billingsclinic.com.
