Hunter Nostrant, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena president

ALPENA — MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena was recently honored with a 2025 Hospital Patient Safety Award by the Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM), according to a MyMichigan Health press release.

The press release explains that the award recognizes hospitals in Michigan that consistently perform with high marks and improvements in patient safety and quality of care. Hospitals can achieve two different awards: the Excellence Award and the Improvement Award.

MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena received the Improvement Award and Hunter Nostrant, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena president, said the center is proud of the achievement.

“We are thrilled to receive the 2025 Hospital Patient Safety Improvement Award from the Economic Alliance for Michigan,” Nostrant told The News. “This award highlights our dedicated health care teams’ resolute commitment to patient safety and quality care. It reassures our patients and their families that their well-being remains our top priority. Our participation in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and our continuous improvement in safety measures underscore our dedication to transparency and excellence in health care.”

According to the press release, to be considered for an award, hospitals must have participated in the 2024 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, demonstrating the hospital’s commitment to transparency. The Leapfrog Group collects, analyzes, and shares data to inform patients.

“Receiving this recognition is not only a significant achievement for our Medical Centers but also for the communities we serve,” Kay Wagner, MyMichigan Health vice president and chief quality officer, said in the press release. “It really does reiterate the collective effort of our health care teams who work tirelessly to uphold the highest safety standards, shows our dedication to continuous improvement and ability to adapt and implement effective safety measures.”

Bret Jackson, EAM president, said in the press release that improvements in patient safety contribute to lower health care costs due to “adverse events” throughout a hospital stay.

“Employers, patients, and their families are often responsible for the costs that occur when an adverse event happens during a hospital stay – creating a preventable financial burden,” Jackson said.

MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena demonstrated improvement in letter grades for four consecutive grading terms with the Hospital Safety Grade (Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024), according to the press release.

The press release also states that to be considered for an Improvement Award, during the four terms, the grades must not decline. The Fall 2024 survey grade must have been at least a “B” to qualify, and hospitals had to improve by two letter grades within four surveys.

In the 2023 Spring survey, MyMichigan Medical Center received a “C” grade from the Leapfrog Group. For the 2023 Fall, 2024 Spring, and 2024 Fall surveys, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena received an “A” grade.

According to the MyMichigan Health press release, MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena was one of 13 Michigan hospitals to receive the EAM Improvement Award.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.