The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C-based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, today released the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.

            Grand View Health was one of 750 awarded an 'A' for its efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.

            "Our sixth consecutive 'A' Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group is a recognition that we so proudly receive at Grand View Health. As our community continues to rely on our physicians, caregivers and employees for quality healthcare services, we will continue to keep excellence and safety at the forefront of everything we do," said Jean M. Keeler, JD, president and chief executive officer (CEO), Grand View Health.

            "This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "Receiving an 'A' Safety Grade means a hospital is among the best in the country for preventing these terrible problems and putting their patients first, 24 hours a day."

            Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to approximately 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.