-information courtesy of Donna Young, MPH Marketing & Communication Coordinator

Maria Parham Health has earned another ‘A’ in hospital safety from a national watchdog group that rates hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers for protecting patients from preventable harm and errors.

This latest grade from The Leapfrog Group is primarily for the time during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. MPH received an A from the same group last fall.

“This outstanding result represents the work and collaborative efforts of our entire care team and partners over the years,” stated MPH CEO Bert Beard. “We are very proud to have sustained this high standard and will continue to work to provide access to high quality care for the region. With just over a quarter of the hospitals across the country receiving an A, we thank our communities for entrusting us with their care and for the opportunity to serve them at this high level.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national organization assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D and F to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of the The Leapfrog Group. “But this hospital received an A despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made that possible,” Binder said in a press release from MPH Marketing & Communication Coordinator Donna Young.

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.  Grades are updated in the fall and spring each year.

To see Maria Parham Health’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HosptialSafetyGrade.org. and follow The Leapfrog Group ofn Twitter, Facebook and via its newsletter.