Virginia Mason Medical Center Voted Safest Hospital in America

Hospitals Havens or Hazards

Virginia Mason became a positive catalyst for change after the death of one of its patients

Although a hospital’s purpose is to care for its patients, preventable hospital mistakes are estimated to cause more than 180,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. The staggering number has led many institutions to rethink safety implementation in the hopes of reducing the chance of a mishap. Seattle’s , a leader in that was recently voted safest hospital of the decade by The Leapfrog Group, began its climb to safety perfection after the preventable death of one of its patients.

Inside E Street host Lark McCarthy is joined in the studio by Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, and Gabrielle Redford, editorial projects manager for AARP the Magazine. Our guests discuss the problem of preventable deaths in hospitals and explain The Leapfrog Group’s criteria for its Hospital Safety Score. Inside E Street also speaks with Gerald McClinton, whose mother's death from an avoidable mistake at Virginia Mason became a positive catalyst for change.

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