St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Sacred Heart’s achievements  protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care – the hospital’s second consecutive ‘A’ safety grade.

 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 the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients in their care.

“To receive a Leapfrog safety grade of ‘A’ for one grading period is excellent, but to maintain that level of safety for two consecutive grading periods – a full year – is truly exceptional,” said Sacred Heart Hospital President Jeff English. “I could not be prouder of our colleagues and providers and the dedication they demonstrate day-in and day-out to the safety of our patients.”

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

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 2,700 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.

To see Sacred Heart Hospital’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.