Two hospitals recognized with 'A's for safety

Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital received “A” grades in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.Roper Hospital earned a B, and RSF Berkeley Hospital was not rated yet. RSF MPH and BSSF were awarded “A” grades when Leapfrog updated grades for spring 2021.

“Creating a safe environment and providing high quality care are key characteristics of who we are as a healthcare system, said Matt Desmond, vice president of acute care for RSFH. “These grades serve as proof that our nurses, physicians and teammates consistently strive to do what’s best for our patients to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Leapfrog Hospital 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.

“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 RSF Mount Pleasant Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital show 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.