Los Banos’ Memorial receives “A” in national survey; Mercy slips to a “C”

Los Banos’ Memorial Hospital was among a handful of Valley hospitals awarded an “A” grade on patient safety, according to a national survey released this week.

More than 2,000 hospitals were included in the twice-yearly report from the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that collects and analyzes data on hospital performances.

The Spring 2017 report released Wednesday focused on five main areas of patient safety: infections; problems with surgery; practices to prevent errors; safety problems; and doctors, nurses and hospital staff.

Merced County’s other hospital, Mercy Medical Center in Merced, received a “C” grade overall, the lowest grade the facility has received since 2014. After a streak of “A” grades, the facility slipped to a “B” in the Fall 2016 report and sank lower in the current survey.

“We are pleased to participate in public reporting projects which promote transparency, facilitate improvements in the care we provide, and enable consumers to make informed choices about their health care,” a statement from Mercy Medical Center said. “The 30 measures identified by the Leapfrog Group for improving quality and patient safety may help improve patient safety outcomes, but they are neither the best nor the only indicators of an institution’s quality.”

The Leapfrog Group awarded “A” grades to only 823 hospitals nationwide.

Memorial Hospital also received an A in the Fall 2016 survey, the first report in which it was scored.

“Across our network, we work relentlessly to provide exceptional care quality, safety and service for our patients,” said Doug Archer, Memorial Hospital administrator, in a statement. “This national ranking demonstrates how, by partnering with one another and other quality and safety experts, we make a difference for communities across Northern California.”

The category where both hospitals performed “below average” concerned doctor and nurse communication with patients. In addition, Mercy Medical also scored below average on the responsiveness of staff and not having a sufficient number of qualified nurses.

The data shows Memorial Hospital lacks specially trained doctors for intensive care unit patients and has low scores on communicating with physicians about their medications and after-discharge home care.

Mercy Medical ranked “above average” in reducing the amount of infections contracted in the hospitals and problems during surgery. Memorial Hospital’s “above average” rankings include reducing infections, preventing errors and reducing patient risks.

Other hospitals scored near Merced County included: Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, with a “B” grade; Doctor’s Medical Center in Modesto, which received an “A” grade; Memorial Medical Center of Modesto, which had a “C” grade; and Madera Community Hospital, which received a “B.”

In the South Valley, Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia also earned an “A.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Los Banos’ Memorial receives “A” in national survey; Mercy slips to a “C”."