COURT HOUSE – Even with the strain of dealing with a pandemic, Cape Regional Medical Center (CRMC) improved its patient safety rating in the semi-annual report from the nationally recognized Leapfrog group, earning a B rating.
The ratings are a result of scores on 28 measures of hospital patient safety. The grades are on an A through F scale. Leapfrog issues scores for over 2,600 hospitals across the nation. In New Jersey, 67 hospitals are rated.
In the previous rating, CRMC lost its B score and slipped to a C, largely due to the difficulties in obtaining specialized critical care physician coverage from within the county.
Chief Medical Officer Andrea McCoy said the hospital would remedy the problem through a partnership with Cooper University Hospital, for specialized critical care staffing.
As several hospitals in the region lost ground in the rating system during the pandemic, McCoy said, “The pandemic has driven our team to remain even more focused on our collaboration for a culture of safety.”
McCoy added, “This higher rating represents focus on the principles of high reliability and adoption of high-reliability safety practices. McCoy also pointed to the implemented “on-site critical care physicians” program, which remedied the most significant problem from the previous evaluation.
The demands of the pandemic continue. The latest report from CRMC, as of Dec. 11, listed 26 COVID-19 patients, with six in intensive care. Safety precautions are in place and the hospital remains open for all medical care issues with in-person and telemedicine visits.
