OMH president sees hospital grade as opportunity for improvement
GAYLORD — Munson Medical Center in Traverse City received the top “A” grade from the Leapfrog Group for its most recent report card on hospital quality while Munson's community hospitals in Northern Michigan, including Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord and Grayling Hospital, earned a "B."
Washington-based Leapfrog is an independent national organization that examines hospital quality and safety, assigning an A, B, C, D, and F grade based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
Leapfrog uses safety information from the Medicare database, which is collected from all hospitals except those in Maryland and data from hospitals that voluntarily participate in Leapfrog's program.
Chris Squire, president of Otsego Memorial (OMH), said his hospital's overall B grade was based on data from 2020.
"Even if we had received an A, I would give you the same response that we as an organization have an opportunity for improvement," Squire said.
After reviewing the Leapfrog report, Squire said he wants to work on communication with OMH's nursing staff.
"I think we have an opportunity with our nursing work force in areas like visibility and communication," Squire said.
He added that in 2020 when the survey was taken, it was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic with many unknowns.
"Now we have a much better understanding of how to work through the pandemic," added Squire, who also noted the challenge of communication in 2020 when most meetings were conducted using virtual or online technology instead of an in-person setting.
In a measure called support for nursing workforce, OMH scored 64.71 out of a possible 100 points. In another measure called effective leadership to prevent errors, OMH earned 120 out of 120 possible points.
OMH scored well in maternity care as the hospital's use of a C-section (Cesarean) was 20.8%, below the recommended rate of 23.6%. In the early elective deliveries measure, OMH had a rate of 3.1%, below the recommended 5% level.
OMH screened all of its newborns for jaundice before discharge, exceeding the recommended 90% rate.
"We do a lot of standardized testing on newborns and infants. I think our nursing staff does an amazing job explaining to parents what the tests are and what they can tell us," said Squire.
"In labor and delivery, the nursing staff keeps the parents fully engaged and informed about what to expect then discharging them with resources needed for everyone to get off to a good start when they get home," he said.
Squire was appointed OMH president earlier this year.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: OMH president sees hospital grade as opportunity for improvement
