Augusta Health recognized with ‘A’ in fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Augusta Health was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Augusta Health’s achievements in providing safer healthcare for patients.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. Updated every six months, the Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country.

The grade is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

“Patient Safety is a focused and continuous effort at Augusta Health as it is at every hospital across the nation,” said Mary N. Mannix, FACHE, president and CEO of Augusta Health, “so for our physicians and staff to be recognized is especially gratifying.  This year, as the pandemic has required us to adjust, adapt and re-focus on a nearly daily basis has been incredibly stressful.  I’m so proud of my colleagues for their abilities to keep our patients’ health and safety needs as their top priorities.  They truly deserve this recognition.”

“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and healthcare 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 Augusta Health. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. healthcare 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.

Augusta Health was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see Augusta Health’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.