St. Mark’s Medical Center Awarded “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group
St. Mark’s Medical Center received an “A” Hospital Safety grade from The Leapfrog Group. This national distinction celebrates St. Mark’s achievements in protecting hospital patients from preventable harm and errors, and it reflects St. Mark’s continuous commitment to safety and quality patient care.
St. Mark’s “A” grade is in the top 29% of all hospitals in the U.S., with only 78 other hospitals in Texas earning an “A,” including all eligible St. David’s HealthCare facilities. St. David’s Medical Center is the only hospital in the state to receive straight “A” ratings since The Leapfrog Group launched the Hospital Safety Score initiative (now known as Hospital Safety Grades) in 2012. St. Mark’s is a clinical affiliate of St. David’s HealthCare.
To determine the accreditation grade, The Leapfrog Group gathers twenty two evidencebased measures of a hospital’s patient safety, including hospital data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. Measures include the management structures and procedures a hospital has in place to protect patients from errors, accidents and injuries. The Leapfrog Group then analyzes the data and determines the weight of each measure based on evidence, opportunity for improvement and impact.
“I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance so that they can best protect patients. Your hospital team should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”
“We are thrilled to receive this prestigious recognition from The Leapfrog Group,” said Mark Kimball, President and CEO of St. Mark’s. “It celebrates the work that our staff focuses on to keep patients safe.”
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization with a 10-year history of assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the U.S. based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.
To see St. Mark’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, uou can visit HospitalSafetyGrade. org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, and via its newsletter.
St. Mark’s Medical Center (St. Mark’s) is one of the top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals in the United States as ranked by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, and in 2022, rated several accreditations, including a 4-star hospital by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, accreditation by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) Standards and the Conditions of Participation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in addition to an “A” grade by the national watchdog organization, The Leapfrog Group. The 100,000 sq. ft. community hospital serves residents of Fayette County and surrounding communities with the latest medical technology and comprehensive healthcare from highly skilled physicians, nurses and professional staff.
Services include cardiac; physical and occupational rehabilitation; wound care; orthopedic care; inpatient and outpatient care; a 24-hour emergency department; outpatient/elective surgeries and procedures; and laboratory and imaging services. For more information, visit SMMCTX.org.
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 for patient safety. 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.