HICKORY, NC – Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) was awarded an
‘A’ from
The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2019
Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes CVMC’s efforts in protecting patients
from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.
CVMC was the only hospital in Catawba County’s region to earn this
top designation.
The Leapfrog Group, a national organization that scores healthcare quality
and safety for consumers and purchasers, assigns a Safety Grade of A,
B, C, D or F to hospitals across the country based on their performance
in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients
in their care.
This spring over 2,600 hospitals nationally were evaluated by The Leapfrog
Group and CVMC was one of only 234 hospitals in the United States to have
earned a safety grade of ‘A.’
Eddie Beard, president and CEO of Catawba Valley Health System, said, “Patient
safety is not only the expectation of the people who choose our organization
for healthcare, it is the number one priority for everyone working in
our organization. We’re proud to achieve the highest possible grade
Leapfrog can offer, but we’re even more gratified that this offers
assurance to our community that we put the greatest effort possible into
keeping our patients safe.”
Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, added, “Leapfrog’s
Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals that focus on advancing patient
safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and
a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares
to others in a region. Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade
deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm
and errors.”
Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital
Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data
to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The
Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent,
and the results are free to the public.
The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps
forward in the quality and safety of American healthcare. The flagship
Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers
to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information
they need to make informed decisions.