New Lenox hospital commended for safety by patient watchdog group

Silver Cross Hospital received an ‘A’ for patient safety, despite pandemic challenges

Dr. Christopher Bane, left, and Dr. Hong Jun Yun go over images of a patient with a technician at Silver Cross Hospital. Shockwave IVL is relatively new technology that uses shock waves to break up kidney stones and other calculuses while leaving soft tissue undisturbed. Monday, April 25, 2022, in New Lenox.

The Leapfrog Group, a hospital safety watchdog group, gave Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox an A for patient safety.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” Leah Binder, president and chief executive officer of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release from Silver Cross. “But this hospital received an ‘A’ despite those challenges.

According to Silver Cross, this “A” in Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group for spring 2023, is its 17th straight A The Leapfrog Group has given Silver Cross.

Ruth Colby, Silver Cross president and chief executive officer, said in the release that the commendation testifies to Silver Cross’ “unrelenting focus on safety for every patient every time.”

Colby said in the release this was especially true during the pandemic when employees, medical staff and volunteers “always put safety first for our patients, our visitors and for each other.

“I couldn’t be prouder of and more grateful for their heroic efforts,” Colby said in the release.

“I couldn’t be prouder of and more grateful for their heroic efforts.”

—  Ruth Colby, president and chief executive officer, Silver Cross Hospital

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog organization, “serves as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care,” according to its website.

Leapfrog collects, analyzes and disseminates data “to inform value-based purchasing and improved decision-making,” its website said.

For more information, visit leapfroggroup.org and silvercross.org.