Keck Hospital of USC earns an ‘A’ hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group 

Rating places the hospital among the safest in the country

2024-05-01

(Press-News.org) LOS ANGELES — Keck Hospital of USC  earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization.

“This grade puts Keck Hospital among the safest in the nation, and is a testament to the hospital’s commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety protocols,” said Marty Sargeant, MBA, CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC.

The Leapfrog Group assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections and the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.

This is the eighth “A” grade that Keck Hospital has received in the last five years.

“This grade reflects the dedication of the entire hospital staff working together to create a continuously safe environment for patients,” said Stephanie Hall, MD, MHA, chief medical officer of Keck Medical Center. “We are proud of our ranking, including our low rates of hospital-associated infection and our high ratings in quality outcomes and patient experience. Nothing is more important than the health of our patients, which is why we make safety and quality our number one priority.”

The Leapfrog Group grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring. 

To see Keck Hospital’s full grade details and access hospital safety tips for patients, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

###

Keck Hospital of USC is part of Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes Keck Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital and is part of Keck Medicine of USC. For more information about Keck Medicine of USC, please visit news.KeckMedicine.org.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Keck Hospital of USC earns an ‘A’ hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group  2

Keck Hospital of USC earns an ‘A’ hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group  3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Survey finds young adults more likely to believe myths about sun protection and skin cancer prevention

2024-05-01

Orlando, Fla - A new national survey by the Orlando Health Cancer Institute finds nearly a third (32%) of Americans agree that a tan makes people look better and healthier, a dangerous beauty standard that experts say can lead to risky behavior when it comes to sun exposure. “There is no such thing as a healthy tan, as it’s really just a visual manifestation of damage to the skin,” said Rajesh Nair, MD, an oncology surgeon at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute. “But we’re fighting against a perceived positive image and health benefits of something that actually has a totally opposite reality, which ...

Time zones and tiredness strongly influence NBA results, study of 25,000 matches shows

2024-05-01

The body clock has a significant impact on the performance of NBA players, according to study published in the peer-reviewed journal Chronobiology International. The authors say their findings, from more than 25,000 matches, show elite basketball coaches and teams should consider the physical and mental effects of time zone travel when planning games and preparing for games. A first of its kind, the research is based on the achievements at home and away of NBA (National Basketball Association) league players across 21 consecutive seasons. Considered the most competitive in the world, NBA athletes frequently travel ...

Premature menopause linked to increased musculoskeletal pain and likelihood of sarcopenia

2024-05-01

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 1, 2024)—Musculoskeletal pain is a prevalent menopause symptom, which helps explain why women typically experience more pain than men, especially around the age of 50 years. Beyond pain, muscle function and mass are also affected by menopause. A new study suggests premature surgical menopause can lead to an increased risk of muscle disorders. Results of the survey are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. The highly publicized Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation spotlighted a number of symptoms that are common during the menopause ...

Women are 40% more likely to experience depression during the perimenopause

2024-05-01

Women are 40% more likely to experience depression in the perimenopause than those who aren’t experiencing any menopausal symptoms, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, provided a meta-analysis of seven studies involving 9,141 women from across the world (including Australia, USA, China, Netherlands and Switzerland), to understand whether different stages of the menopause were associated with different risk of depression. The perimenopause usually occurs around three to five years before the onset of menopause. During this stage women’s oestrogen and progesterone levels begin to fluctuate, ...

World’s highest observatory explores the universe

2024-05-01

How do planets form? How do galaxies evolve? And ultimately, how did the universe itself begin? A unique astronomical observatory that researchers hope will unravel some of the biggest mysteries out there marks its opening on April 30, 2024. At an altitude of 5,640 meters, the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO), built on the summit of a desert mountain in northern Chile, is the highest astronomical observatory in the world, which should give it unrivaled capabilities, but presents some novel challenges. Astronomers will ...

$27 million to map 50 million human cells and uncover genetic fingerprints of disease

2024-05-01

Illumina, a global genomics and human health company, has partnered with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research’s TenK10K project to help transform the treatment of complex diseases, starting with autoimmune diseases, with a joint investment of $27 million AUD. The Garvan Institute plans to map 50 million human cells from 10,000 people to identify unique genomic fingerprints of autoimmune diseases, heart diseases and cancer, building on the early success of a clinical trial for Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease affects more than 80,000 Australians. As with many autoimmune diseases, ...

Validated rules help prevent overuse of CT scans for diagnosing traumatic head and abdominal injuries in kids

2024-05-01

Head and abdominal trauma is a leading cause of death for children. About 1%–2% of children who come to emergency departments with head or abdominal injuries require immediate intervention. These injuries are diagnosed the world over by computed tomography (CT) scans. But CT-related radiation can cause cancers later in life, and accumulated evidence suggests that CT is overused. “There is an urgent need for validated guidelines for the safe use of CT to diagnose injured children while preventing unnecessary radiation exposure,” says Pradip Chaudhari, MD, Director of Research and Scholarship, Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, ...

Closing the U.S./Mexico border during COVID-19 increased HIV transmission

2024-05-01

The border crossing separating San Diego, California, from Tijuana, Mexico, is a dynamic place. When it was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, drug tourism from San Diego to Tijuana continued. This provided a flow of people in both directions, bringing with them not only the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) but also the virus that causes AIDS (HIV). A collaborative study led by researchers from University of California San Diego and Irvine, recently published in the Lancet, found that rather than preventing the spread of disease, closing the border actually increased the rate of HIV transmission. Injection drug use increases the risk of HIV infection through ...

Researchers at Houston Methodist find difference in pancreatic cancer cells, offering new hope for immunotherapy effectiveness

2024-05-01

A new study has found that pancreatic cancer cells are different based on their location in the pancreas, providing new information about tumors that could lead to better targeted treatments. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer, and the diagnosis has dramatically increased over the last decade. It is currently the seventh leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women globally and projected to be the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths world-wide by 2030. This increase is due to several factors such as an increase in obesity and diabetes. Houston Methodist’s ...

Withdrawal of stop-smoking pill could lead to thousands of avoidable deaths

2024-05-01

The disruption to the supply of a prescription medicine that helps people stop smoking may have led to thousands fewer people quitting each year in England, which will lead to avoidable deaths in future, suggests a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. Varenicline (also known as Champix) is one of the most effective treatments to help smokers quit. It works by reducing cravings for nicotine and easing withdrawal symptoms. But its distribution was paused in July 2021 in the UK and Europe as a precaution after higher than expected levels of a potentially ...

Keck Hospital of USC earns an ‘A’ hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Keck Hospital of USC earns an ‘A’ hospital safety grade from The Leapfrog Group 