Patient safety is at the core of high-quality healthcare, directly influencing outcomes, hospital reputation, and financial sustainability. Hospitals must prioritize safety initiatives to prevent harm and foster trust. Improving Leapfrog Safety Grades requires more than compliance—it necessitates a strong culture of safety, accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.

By focusing on recently established CMS 2025 guidelines for patient safety, hospitals can create an environment to eliminate preventable harm in which safety is ingrained in every individual’s workflow.

Developing a Patient Safety Culture

A robust culture of safety ensures that staff feel empowered to speak up, report concerns, and contribute to improvement efforts without fear of reprisal. This requires hospitals to:

• Embed patient safety into core values and strategic plans to reinforce its importance across all levels of the organization.
• Encourage open dialogue where staff can identify and address risks proactively.
• Conduct a culture of safety survey every two years, sharing results and implementing action plans based on feedback.

A culture that prioritizes learning and continuous improvement leads to a safe environment for patients, families and the healthcare team while achieving higher CMS and Leapfrog scores.

Leadership Commitment to Eliminating Preventable Harm

Hospital leadership plays a pivotal role in driving patient safety initiatives. Leaders must not only support but actively participate in fostering a safety-first mindset by way of:

• Making patient safety a top priority at the board and executive levels.
• Establishing clear accountability structures where leaders, managers, and frontline staff are responsible for safety outcomes.
• Maintaining transparency in reporting errors and near-misses, ensuring that all levels of staff contribute to solutions and celebrate successes.
• Staying informed about publicly reported data, including Leapfrog Safety Grades, to proactively address areas of concern.

Leaders must set expectations, demonstrate behaviors, and communicate clearly to cultivate a safe environment.

Patient and Family Engagement: A Critical Safety Partner

Engaging patients and families as active participants in their healthcare journey strengthens hospitals’ ability to provide safe, high-quality care. An effective strategy for patient and family engagement should include:

• Developing an integrated approach where patient voices are incorporated into safety and quality initiatives.
• Using patient feedback to identify areas for improvement and drive meaningful changes.
• Establishing family engagement councils to ensure patients and caregivers have a seat at the table in decision-making processes.

Hospitals that successfully implement these strategies often see improvements in both patient outcomes and safety scores, reinforcing the direct impact of patient involvement in care processes.

A Proactive Approach to Safety Success

Hospitals that aim to improve their Leapfrog Safety Grades and other quality measures must take a proactive, organization-wide approach to patient safety. By fostering a strong safety culture, requiring leadership accountability, and embedding patient and family engagement into daily operations, hospitals can make meaningful strides in preventing harm and delivering better patient outcomes.

Investing in these strategies not only enhances safety performance but also strengthens public trust and reinforces the hospital’s commitment to excellence in care. Now more than ever, prioritizing patient safety is not just a regulatory necessity—it is a fundamental responsibility of healthcare organizations striving for the highest standards of care.

Gina Lehman is a Certified Leapfrog Coach and is available to help hospitals of all sizes by supporting their journey to improved patient safety, Leapfrog Survey completion, and Leapfrog Safety Grades. If you’re interested in how Gina can help your hospital, please email info@ovationhc.com.