The Protection Well being Company introduced Might 6 that Walter Reed Nationwide Army Medical Heart earned a Leapfrog “A” hospital security grade for spring 2026.
Leapfrog Group, an impartial nonprofit group, evaluates hospitals nationwide on security and prevention measures, together with these regarding errors, accidents and infections. It assigns taking part amenities grades from A to F twice a 12 months, within the fall and spring. This marks the fifth consecutive six-month cycle that the medical middle in Bethesda, Maryland, has earned a high rating.
Walter Reed was one in every of 15 navy hospitals to earn an A grade, and one in every of solely three to earn consecutive A grades over the previous 5 cycles. The grades are indicative of Walter Reed’s readiness and dedication to security and high quality care.
Additionally receiving A grades for the previous 5 consecutive cycles have been:
- Carl R. Darnall Military Medical Heart, Fort Hood, Texas
- William Beaumont Military Medical Heart, Fort Bliss, Texas
The opposite 12 navy hospitals to earn an A grade this cycle have been:
- Alexander T. Augusta Army Medical Heart, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- Blanchfield Military Group Hospital, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- Brooke Military Medical Heart, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Military Medical Heart, Fort Gordon, Georgia
- Keesler Medical Heart, Keesler Air Pressure Base, Mississippi
- Madigan Military Medical Heart, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
- Mike O’Callaghan Army Medical Heart, Nellis Air Pressure Base, Nevada
- Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida
- Naval Medical Heart Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
- Naval Medical Heart Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia
- U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Marine Corps Base Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
- Womack Military Medical Heart, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Throughout its latest analysis, Walter Reed scored above common in stopping MRSA and sepsis.
“Staph micro organism are frequent in hospitals, however MRSA is a sort of staph micro organism that’s proof against [and cannot be killed by] many antibiotics. MRSA could be present in mattress linens or medical tools and may unfold if suppliers don’t correctly wash their palms between sufferers. MRSA could cause life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical web site infections,” a Leapfrog official defined.
Walter Reed maintains a rigorous, high-scoring hand hygiene program targeted on stopping infections by fixed monitoring, compliance suggestions and employees training, mentioned Bernadette Naquin, a Directorate for High quality registered nurse at Walter Reed.
The medical middle scored larger than common in stopping “issues with surgical procedure,” which included guaranteeing correct surgical sew closure and stopping kidney failure and critical respiration issues following surgical procedure.
It additionally scored larger than common in stopping “dangerous occasions” and “air or fuel bubbles within the blood.”
“Sufferers can expertise problems and probably dangerous occasions following a surgical procedure, a process or childbirth. When all of those errors are examined collectively, it offers a greater image of a hospital’s skill to maintain its sufferers protected,” the Leapfrog official mentioned.
Leapfrog evaluated Walter Reed employees for protected remedy administration, handwashing practices, communication about medicines and discharge, and teamwork to forestall errors.
The medical middle makes use of a barcode remedy administration system to cut back the danger of remedy error — each the affected person and the drugs are scanned to make sure the affected person receives the proper drugs. Leapfrog additionally measured affected person suggestions relating to how typically hospital employees defined the aim of latest medicines and their potential uncomfortable side effects, noting that affected person views of care are an necessary a part of affected person security.
“Efficient communication about drugs prevents misunderstandings that would result in critical issues for a affected person,” the Leapfrog official mentioned.
Relating to affected person discharge, the ultimate report summarized how properly the hospital employees communicated with sufferers in regards to the assist they would wish at residence after leaving the hospital.
The measure additionally summarizes how typically sufferers reported that they got written details about signs or well being issues to look at for throughout their restoration.
“Educating sufferers on the steps they should take throughout their restoration at residence reduces the probabilities {that a} affected person will have to be readmitted to the hospital,” the Leapfrog official mentioned.
In January, Walter Reed was one in every of 15 DHA amenities to earn high marks from the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies for the way properly they put together sufferers to depart the hospital, in keeping with an evaluation by Becker’s Hospital Evaluation.
The report recognized the 15 navy hospitals and clinics that acquired a five-star score for “care transitions” from CMS, reflecting how sufferers judged their discharge planning and follow-up directions after an inpatient keep — a important time within the affected person care journey, mentioned Dr. Paul Cordts, DHA deputy assistant director for medical affairs.
“A five-star CMS score in care transitions exhibits our groups exceed nationwide benchmarks throughout some of the risk-prone moments in care,” Cordts mentioned, noting that sturdy care coordination, teamwork and patient-centered discharge planning led to the popularity.
The Leapfrog official mentioned a hospital with a powerful tradition of security has a well-functioning group with good leaders who catch errors earlier than they hurt sufferers.
“Sufferers are much less prone to expertise errors if [the] hospital employees works collectively. Workers must also be comfy talking up after they sense an error may occur,” the official added.
Naquin mentioned Walter Reed’s affected person security program helps readiness by working to make sure it has each a prepared medical drive and a medically prepared drive.
“We do that by following the ideas of excessive reliability to work to attain high outcomes regardless of working in a fancy, high-risk setting. This work consists of bettering standardization and lowering variability, mitigating errors to attain zero hurt, celebrating transparency and accountability and valuing the contributions of all people, no matter rank.”
She additionally emphasised the “good catch program,” which highlights employees members who caught and stopped an unsafe situation earlier than it reached the affected person.
“We additionally acknowledge employees who’ve proven a dedication to security and enchancment with Prepared Dependable Care Champion awards. We have now a sturdy group of an infection prevention nurses and a falls champions committee that works to implement evidence-based practices within the hospital to forestall [patient falls],” she added.
Naquin mentioned that affected person security is just not a solitary endeavor, somewhat it’s a dedication wanted by the complete Walter Reed group — employees, sufferers and their households — contributing day-after-day.
“These hospital security grades spotlight [DHA’s] core dedication to protected, high-quality medical look after our sufferers,” Cordts mentioned. “When our navy hospitals obtain excessive requirements like these, in addition they present they’re geared up to each maintain the talents of our uniformed medical suppliers and make sure the total well being of our uniformed service members.”
Leapfrog grades are decided by a public, peer-reviewed methodology, calculated by high affected person security specialists underneath the steering of a nationwide skilled panel. The grading system is out there at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.
David Vergun, Pentagon Information, contributed to this story.
