Mercy Hospital NWA Earns A Grade in Patient Safety

Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers received an A grade in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national distinction recognizing the hospital’s achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns an A-F letter 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.

“This is a great affirmation of the incredible work our team of caregivers does each and every day,” said Eric Pianalto, president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. “We work hard to provide the best in medical care in an environment where quality and safety are our top priority.” 

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, Leapfrog safety grades use up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign ratings to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice each year. The methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and results are free to the public.

“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 those achieving an A grade show us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

To see Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas’ full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas has been recognized 2019-2021 as Arkansas’ only Top 100 Hospital by Fortune/IBM Watson Health and has a 5-star rating, the highest given, from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also known as CMS.

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.