French Hospital Medical Center only hospital in California to earn CMS Five Star Rating and 24 straight A’s from Leapfrog Group

San Luis Obispo facility one of 10 in nation to hold both distinctions for quality and safety

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, November 8, 2023  — Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center is pleased to announce French Hospital is the only hospital in the state of California to achieve both a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five Star Rating while also earning 24 straight ‘A’ grades in Hospital Safety from the Leapfrog Group. 

French Hospital in San Luis Obispo is one of only 10 hospitals in the nation to simultaneously hold both distinctions and is the only facility in California to earn both honors in patient safety simultaneously.  

“Being the only California hospital and one of only 10 hospitals in the nation which have achieved 24 consecutive Leapfrog straight ‘A’ grades combined with a Five Star CMS rating is a tremendous validation of the excellent quality care delivered by the staff and physicians of French Hospital Medical Center;” said Patrick Caster, President and Chief Executive Officer. “These respected third-party designations confirm the position of French Hospital as the Central Coast’s high-quality health care leader.”

The Leapfrog Group announced French Hospital earned its 24th straight ‘A’ on Nov. 6 - meaning the hospital has earned an ‘A’ every grading cycle from the inception of the grading program in 2012.  The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades (A, B, C, D , F) to all general hospitals across the country (approximately 3,000) based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections - as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. 

Only 18 hospitals in the country have earned 24 straight ‘A’ grades from the Leapfrog Group and French Hospital is one of only two in California to earn straight ‘A’s.’

French Hospital earned its Five Star Rating from CMS in July.  CMS annually reviews and assigns star ratings for hospitals (1 through 5 stars) across the country based on their performance of five quality categories including mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care. The overall rating indicates how well each hospital performed on an identified set of quality measures compared to other hospitals in the U.S. The more stars, the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures. Five stars is the highest quality measure.

Only about 10% of hospitals in the nation earned a Five Star Rating from CMS.  French Hospital is also the only hospital in San Luis Obispo County to earn a Five Star Rating from CMS.

“I would like to thank all of the dedicated caregivers and support staff for their dedication in providing superior quality health care to the communities of the Central Coast,” Caster said.

To learn more about French Hospital Medical Center, please visit dignityhealth.org/frenchhospital. 

For interview opportunities, please contact Joe Bailey at (805) 714-6740. 

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About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 98-bed acute care hospital located in San Luis Obispo, California. French’s Oppenheimer Family Center for Emergency Medicine is the area’s most advanced emergency services center. The modern facility is home to the Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center, is the county’s premier cardiac center, providing the latest cardiac and imaging technology, and the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families. French Hospital’s Stollmeyer Family Birthing Center is known for its excellence in family-based care.