SANTA CRUZ >> Dignity Health Dominican Hospital earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety.

Leapfrog assigns grades on the traditional A through F scale to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.

“While we’re thrilled to receive an ‘A’ from the Leapfrog Group, we know that patient safety is an ongoing journey, not a destination,” said Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz, president and CEO, of Dominican Hospital in a release. “This recognition motivates us to continue innovating and improving our processes to ensure we maintain the highest standards of care and provide the safest possible environment for our patients and their families.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

“Achieving an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade is a significant accomplishment for Dominican Hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in a release. “It reflects enormous dedication to your patients and their families, and your whole community should be proud. I extend my congratulations to Dominican Hospital, its leadership, clinicians, staff and volunteers for their tireless efforts to put patients first.”

Visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org to explore Dominican Hospital’s full grade details.

Wheelie Award winners announced

Bike Santa Cruz County has announced the 2024 winners of the Wheelie Awards, an acknowledgment of excellent work toward expanding and improving safety and awareness of cycling in Santa Cruz County.Matt Miller won the Advocacy award, Watsonville Community Bike Ride won the Community Building award, the Bay View Elementary School Bike Bus Program won the Education award, the Ocean Street/Plymouth Street Repaving Project won the Infrastructure award and Moved by Bikes won the Business award.

“These award recipients have one thing in common: They all support bicycling through advocacy, education, and projects,” said Bike Santa Cruz County in a release.

Miller is a senior program specialist with Ecology Action’s Modo team, where he works on transportation behavior change. His current focus is working collaboratively with local government, businesses, and NGOs, to create physical and social infrastructure to transition away from car centric planning and behavior.

The Watsonville Community Bike Ride was held Aug. 24. Hosted by Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and Watsonville Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter, the ride helped demonstrate the ease of using bicycles to move around town.

The Bay View Elementary School Bike Bus Program was developed with the assistance of Ecology Action’s Modo program. A local version of a global movement that transports 30,000 children worldwide, introducing them to bicycles as a viable means of transportation for short trips. Bay View initiated its Bike Bus program in 2023, and has held regular parent-led rides since then, attracting between 30 to 50 students per ride.

The Ocean Street/Plymouth Street Repaving Project is a maintenance project that included a retrofit of striping and sidewalk design to better accommodate cyclists and pedestrians at a critical linchpin location at the terminus of the Highway 17 freeway where it becomes Ocean Street. The retriping includes clearly bike boxes, green Class 1 striping for bike lanes, and ADA ramp repaving for the sidewalks leading to the crosswalks at Ocean Street.

Moved by Bikes was founded in 2012 in Santa Cruz with the mission of creating simple, effective products that make it easier to do more with your bicycle. Moved by Bikes is passionate about outdoor recreation, sustainability, and developing high quality products that merge the two. Its products include surfboard racks, trailers, valet racks and dog runners.

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