Piedmont Athens Regional has received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.

Leapfrog’s national distinction celebrates Piedmont Athens’ achievement in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors. The new grade reflects performance primarily during the height of the pandemic.

This is the sixth consecutive A that has been awarded to Piedmont Athens Regional

“Our scores are a reflection of the tremendous amount of diligence and effort the leadership, staff and physicians at our hospital have put into making Piedmont Athens a hospital of choice in Northeast Georgia,” said Michael Burnett, CEO of Piedmont Athens Regional. “We truly have a dedicated team that is focused on the safety of the patients we are privileged to care for in our hospital.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “But these hospitals received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made that possible.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

To see Piedmont Athens Regional’s complete grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook and via its newsletter.