ST. LOUIS – Once again, all four eligible Mercy hospitals in the St. Louis metro area earned A grades in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for achievements in protecting patients from harm and errors in the hospital.
“Compassionate care is what patients experience at Mercy, quality care is what they get without noticing,” said Kat Nelson, Mercy chief quality officer. “Patients come to us to address their concerns and our amazing caregivers deliver on that with outcomes that continue to be lauded by national organizations.”
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns letter grades to hospitals across the country based on more than 30 performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents, infections and the protocols hospitals have in place to prevent harm to patients.
In Missouri, Mercy Hospital Jefferson, Mercy Hospital South, Mercy Hospital St. Louis and Mercy Hospital Washington were four of only 18 hospitals throughout the state to earn an A grade from Leapfrog in the Spring 2022 grades.
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 at hospitalsafetygrade.org. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
“As our health care system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank Mercy’s workforce and leadership for sustained commitment to patient safety day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An A Safety Grade is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire health care workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud.”
Other Mercy hospitals that received A grades include Ada, Ardmore, Fort Smith, Joplin, Lebanon, Northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma City. To see Mercy’s full grade details and to 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.