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Abbeville General was awarded an “A” in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Abbeville General’s achievements, protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The 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 based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.
“We work hard to prevent infections, double check medications and keep patients free from harm,” commented Brittany Thibodeaux, RN, BSN, CPSO, Chief Quality Officer/Patient Safety Officer at Abbeville General.
“Safety is a big concern in hospitals across the country, and this is why we are so proud that Abbeville General earned an “A” from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for being one of the safest hospitals in America. We provide access to SAFE Quality Care Close to Home!”
“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Abbeville General. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.”
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 2,600 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.
Abbeville General was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see [Abbeville General’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.
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.

About Abbeville General

Abbeville General Hospital opened its doors to the citizens of Vermilion Parish and surrounding areas in February 1966 as a community based, non-profit healthcare provider. After numerous expansions, renovations, and modernization projects, Abbeville General continues to provide quality healthcare services on the same site that was dedicated to the purpose in 1966. Today, Abbeville General is a 60-bed acute care hospital committed to providing quality healthcare to the community and surrounding areas. The facility is modern, completely equipped and staffed to provide their patients with a full spectrum of modern technology, procedures and treatments, as well as comprehensive specialized care. Abbeville General is fully licensed and accredited and meets all requirements of the State of Louisiana and the Joint Commission. The mission of Abbeville General is to provide Access to Quality Care Close to Home!

November 14, 1957 ~ December 15, 2020

ABBEVILLE — A memorial will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, December 19, 2020 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Patrick Mark Frederick, 63, who died Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at his residence
He is survived by his daughter, Fallon Frederick; twin sisters, Waldine Broussard Frederick and husband Willie and Geraldine F. Boudreaux and husband Purvis; two nieces, Annette B. Mudd and husband Joseph and Nadine Hebert Richard; three nephews, Kenneth Jason Broussard, Joseph Randal Hebert and Shane Frederick; adopted family, Shannah Arceneaux, William "Billy" Ledoux and Adam Guidry; and a host of great nieces and great nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Lula Mae Meaux LeMaire; father, Dallas P. Frederick; and brothers, Gregory Todd Vaughan and Daryl Wayne Frederick.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Saturday, December 19, 2020 from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers the family suggest contributions can be made in Patrick Mark Frederick’s memory to the Affiliated Blind of Louisiana, 409 W. Saint Mary Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70506.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

(The Center Square) – The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday voted to ask Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration to prioritize school staff when deciding which groups of workers will get COVID-19 vaccinations next.
Vaccinations began Monday in Louisiana. Based on federal guidelines, tier 1 hospital workers are first in line for the limited supply now available. Long-term care residents and staff and emergency medical drivers are next.
BESE’s request does not include a timeline. Members are asking state officials to make vaccines available to school and early childhood education workers “as soon as possible.”
State Superintendent Cade Brumley said that group includes about 166,000 people and suggested vaccinations would help keep schools and early childhood centers open.
“Birth through 12th-grade employees cut across every region of the state,” he added. “They cut across every demographic in our state. It’s a really good sample population of the state.”
As of last week, about 65 percent of Louisiana’s students were attending classes in person five days a week, Brumley said. About 20 percent were attending class remotely, while 15 percent were attending schools holding a mix of in-person and remote classes, he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets the immunization schedules based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Prioritizing health care workers and long-term care residents and staff is the first official recommendation, though state leaders have the final say.
Edwards was asked about vaccine prioritization Tuesday during an online meeting of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. Though state officials expect to receive a total of about 79,000 COVID-19 vaccinations this week and next week, going forward, Edwards said they expect to find out on Friday evenings how many vaccines they will get the following week.
Edwards said state officials will consider the advisory committee’s next set of prioritization recommendations. He has said he expects Louisiana to follow ACIP guidelines for the most part, though some adjustments may be made based on the state’s hospital patient population.
“We’re going to be making decisions and communicating with the public going forward what the different priority groups are going to look like,” Edwards said Tuesday. “We’re asking people to be patient.”

If you read my column on a regular basis, you know the various topics and subjects I address are not about current events, but rather they involve principles or examples that are timeless and we can apply to our lives. Such is the case today, as I want to talk about the senseless violence that is taking place across our nation with regards to members of our law enforcement community.
While there are bad apples in every profession, let me say here in the beginning that I totally support our police and would never want to be without them. We have some people who want society to govern itself, and we will see how that turns out.
No one in their right mind would deny that we have a serious problem in our country. In time we will solve this problem, because that is our nature. Sadly, many people are being hurt and killed while we work through this dilemma, at the same time dealing with a pandemic. When it comes to a great example of a leader who accomplished more than anyone else in dealing with the injustices that have been inflicted on our black brothers, it has to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who practiced nonviolence as his way of getting things done.
However, I would remind you that his accomplishments were in an era when social and moral values were much different than they are today. Most of his accomplishments took place when he was young, but in his later years he had these radical words to say as he spoke to a packed schoolhouse outside of Detroit, Michigan. “It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention.”
At this point let me depart from Dr. King -- we all know what a great man he was -- and take a look into the future. We know there are serious injustices in our society and we must collectively take steps to correct them, but at the same time we must take a look at the root problem. A good place to begin is to visualize 1,000 people taking part in a protest. For the sake of example, let’s say 900 of these people are orderly and peaceful, but 100 are not. These are the people who riot, loot and burn buildings. We all see it on our TV screens.
What is the difference between the 900 and the 100? I am going to say that a lot of the difference is education, and that has to do with literacy, something I have been involved in for the past 15 to 20 years. People who have a good education view life, property, and the rights of others differently than those who are school dropouts and are failing in life from a success standpoint. A lot of the problem really comes down to what I discussed in a past column called “Welfare and Unwed Mothers.” If you recall, more than 60 percent of babies born today are born in single-parent homes.
When millions of children grow up without a father, society reaps the consequences.
While this is long-term, that is most of the problem. We must change that situation in order to have a brighter future. The answer is certainly not violence, as this is the worst tool for change. The answer is love.
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(Editor’s Note: Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated to over 375 newspapers in 35 states making it one of the most successful in the history of American journalism.)