Public Employee Press


Harlem Hospital highest rated
City public hospitals rated tops for safety records

"These Health and Hospitals employees achieved successful outcomes despite the desperate finances plaguing the city's public health care system."
—Henry Garrido, DC 37 Executive Director

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

NYC Health + Hospitals topped a recent Hospital Safety Score report compiled by the Leapfrog Group.

NYC H + H received a cumulative 2.45 rating for its safety record, better than private hospitals Columbia Presbyterian and Montefiore, which each rated 2.0.

Leapfrog, the hospital transparency advocacy group, named Harlem Hospital an A-rated, top urban hospital - one of just 62 in the nation - based on its measures of patient safety, prevention of medical errors, lower infection rates and fewer readmissions.

"These outstanding ratings are testaments to our 18,000 dedicated members who provide vital services in every level of support for patients from housekeeping to social work to information technology, alongside our union sisters and brothers who are doctors and nurses," said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.

"These Health and Hospitals employees achieved successful outcomes despite the desperate finances plaguing the city's public health care system."

NYC Health + Hospitals treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. The agency faces a looming $2 billion deficit by 2019.

In April, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a $2 billion infusion of aid to help NYC H+H, the nation's largest public health care system. De Blasio's plan adds $700 million in 2016 to its budget with no facility closures or layoffs.

The Hospital Safety Score grading scale ranges from A to F. Harlem and Metropolitan hospitals received A grades; Woodhull received a B, and Kings County is rated D. The other NYC H + H facilities received C ratings.

New York State placed 44th out of 48 states surveyed in the report.

Four of the 15 hospitals nationwide that received an F rating are in New York State, but none are NYC H + H facilities.