Lakeside Hospital maintains "A" safety rating

Lakeside Hospital was awarded its fifth-consecutive "A" rating from The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital quality watchdog. This accolade recognizes Lakeside Hospital's long-standing culture of safety and efforts to protect patients from harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is a bi-annual grading assigning "A," "B," "C," "D" and "F" letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. It is the nation's only rating focused entirely on patient safety – preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

"We are proud to have Leapfrog recognize our team for the work they do to provide world-class care that is safe, cutting-edge and patient-focused," said Ruth Kain, chief nursing officer of Tulane Health System. "Patient safety and outcomes are always important, but especially so during a pandemic. As we look forward to ending this pandemic through vaccination, our patients can expect us to remain diligent in adhering to COVID-19 precautions."

Lakeside Hospital, as part of Tulane Health System, has implemented several measures to ensure the safety of its patients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

• Screening for all patients, visitors and staff before entering facilities.
• Rapid testing for COVID-19, so symptomatic patients know within minutes if they are positive and can be appropriately isolated and treated.
• Socially distant waiting areas with hygiene stations.
• Separate areas and staff for non-COVID-19 positive patients, as well as outpatient and patients with scheduled procedures. These patients are treated in separate areas and assigned caregivers who are not caring for COVID-19 positive patients during their shift.
• All caregivers wear masks throughout the hospital, per CDC guidelines.
• Heightened infection prevention policies, including the removal of high-touch items such as magazines and toys.

Tulane Medical Center maintained its "B" safety rating with Leapfrog Group. This is also the second-consecutive year it has earned a World's Best Hospital designation. Additionally, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana recently named Tulane Health System a Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee and Hip Replacement.

To learn more about Tulane Health System and its world-class services, please visit our website.