One of Four CT Hospitals to Receive CMS Highest Five-Star Quality Rating, and “A” Hospital Safety Grade from Leapfrog Placing DKH in Top Third of Hospitals in the Nation

Day Kimball Hospital (DKH) has recently earned top recognition from two national healthcare ratings organizations in areas related to patient safety and quality of care.

Day Kimball Hospital has been awarded the highest five-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and was honored with an “A” grade in the spring 2021 release of the Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing DKH’s achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

“Delivering high-quality healthcare to our region is our top priority at Day Kimball Healthcare,” said Kyle Kramer, chief executive officer, Day Kimball Healthcare. “Day Kimball is so proud to be the only hospital in our region to have achieved this level of recognition. We are honored to be among an elite group of hospitals dedicated to delivering excellent patient care and providing a positive experience for patients. These recognitions are a testament to our incredible team of physicians, nurses, clinical staff, and those behind the scenes who come to work every day committed to delivering excellence in quality, safety, and service.”

CMS Five-Star Quality Rating
DKH is one of only four hospitals in the state of Connecticut to achieve an overall five-star ranking from CMS, the highest ranking possible. Nationally, DKH ranks in the top 13% (one of just over 400) of eligible hospitals that have earned this distinction.

CMS created the Five-Star Quality Rating System to help consumers compare hospital and nursing home facilities. CMS’ Care Compare website is consumer-oriented, and provides information on how well hospitals provide recommended care to their patients. This information can help consumers make informed decisions about where to go for health care and features a quality rating system that gives hospitals and nursing homes a rating between one and five stars.

Since the start of the star rating system in 2015, CMS collects and compiles data from hospitals and uses that information to assign ratings from 1-5 starts. Much of the data comes from surveys of actual patients assessing their specific experience.

CMS uses the rating system to measure multiple facets of over 4,000 hospitals across the country to drive systematic improvements in care and safety for patients. The specific performance indicators in the CMS Star Rating system include measurements related to five areas: Mortality, Safety of Care, Re-Admission Rate, Patient Experience, and Timely and Effective Care. The ratings are published on the CMS Care Compare website. Each category is weighted and combined to create a score.

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients in their care.

Day Kimball was among 33% of over 2,700 hospitals graded across the country and 8 in Connecticut to earn the “A” rating, placing it in the top third of hospitals in the nation for patient safety. The healthcare system first earned an “A” grade in the fall of 2017.

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but Day Kimball Hospital shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. To see Day Kimball Hospital’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

Day Kimball Healthcare also recently earned three national quality awards from The Joint Commission, an independent organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States: The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers; Day Kimball Hospital and Day Kimball Healthcare At Home earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval®; and The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Joint Replacement Certification.

“We are honored to be recognized with these distinctions which further demonstrate what a vital resource our healthcare system is to the Northeast Connecticut community. As we continue to redefine what a community hospital should be, we aim to provide the best quality of care coupled with a culture of learning and performance improvement at every level. Especially with the added layer of safety issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I am incredibly proud of our staff’s sustained teamwork in maintaining our high standards for patient safety and quality,” added Kramer.

DKH takes pride in the excellence of care provided to its patients and the community. To learn more about all of Day Kimball Hospital’s various safety and quality measures, visit our Quality & Patient Safety page.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.