Wright Patt Medical Center named among safest military hospitals

Wright-Patterson’s hospital is the Air Force’s second largest.
Exterior of Wright-Patterson Medical Center Thursday, July 24 in Fairborn.  Mike Burianek / Staff

Credit: mike burianek

Credit: mike burianek

Exterior of Wright-Patterson Medical Center Thursday, July 24 in Fairborn. Mike Burianek / Staff

Wright Patterson Air Force Base’s Medical Center was named among the military’s safest hospitals.

The Defense Health Agency said nine military hospitals received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, focusing on a hospital’s patient safety measures through more than 30 performance indicators.

Each indicator reflects errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent patient harm, the agency said last week.

The ratings came from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program, run by the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit that advocates for improved patient safety in health care.

Senior Airman Jason Scoles, a dialysis technician with the 88th Medical Group, checks on his patient John Pennix as Pennix is receiving his dialysis treatment at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center. Patients go on dialysis when the kidneys are no longer able to filter and clean blood on its own. (U.S. Air Force photo/Stacey Geiger)

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“We commend all of our health care teams for their unwavering commitment to high reliability and excellence,” Dr. Paul Cordts, the chief medical officer for DHA, said in a statement.

The nine hospitals that received an “A” grade are:

  • 96th Medical Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
  • 673d Medical Group, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
  • Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Cavazos, Texas
  • Evans Army Community Hospital, Fort Carson, Colorado
  • Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
  • William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas
  • Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Liberty, North Carolina
  • Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

DHA said it is the first federal health system to participate in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program.

“We’re humbled at everyone’s enthusiastic participation across our health care system,” said Cordts, who also serves as DHA’s deputy assistant director for medical affairs. “The quality and safety assurance measures and improvement initiatives that are in place ensure that we’re providing the best care possible for our beneficiaries.

The 944,000-square-foot hospital has a staff of about 2,200. The Wright-Patt Medical Center is the Air Force’s second largest hospital.

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