Three Arkansas hospitals garner A rating from Leapfrog

National rating group Leapfrog has awarded Mercy Hospitals in Fort Smith and Rogers an A grade in patient safety for the spring 2021 report. CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs also took the top grade.

The safety grades take into account the hospitals’ achievement protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The independent organization assigns letter grades from A to F to all U.S. general hospitals and it updates its ratings every six months.

“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.”

This makes the 10th consecutive period Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith received the A rating and it’s fourth consecutive time for the Rogers hospital.

“Ten straight A’s for patient safety speaks volumes about the care our co-workers and physicians offer,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Hospital Fort Smith. “COVID-19 brought unprecedented challenges to our health care environment, but our co-workers continue to meet those challenges every day. Our team members are to be commended for their continued excellence in making sure our facilities are safe for our patients.”

Leapfrog says it evaluates hospitals using 27 metrics of publicly available hospital data to assign the ratings to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice annually.

“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.”

The following Arkansas hospitals received a B rating: Medical Center of South Arkansas, El Dorado; NEA Baptist Memorial in Jonesboro; Saint Mary’s Regional Medical in Russellville; Saline Memorial in Benton; and St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro.

Arkansas hospitals garnering a C rating include: Baptist Health, Conway, Baxter Regional in  Mountain Home; CHI St. Vincent Infirmary Medical in Little Rock; Forrest City Medical in Forrest City; Jefferson Regional in Pine Bluff; Johnson Regional in Clarksville; National Medical Park, Hot Springs, Northwest Regional in Harrison; Northwest Medical in Springdale; Northwest Medical in Bentonville; UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock; Unity Health Harris Medical in Newport; Unity Health in Search; Washington Regional in Fayetteville and White River Medical in Batesville.

Six Arkansas hospitals received a D rating in the report. They are Arkansas Methodist Medical in Paragould; Baptist Health in Fort Smith; Baptist Health Medical in Little Rock; CHI St. Vincent in Sherwood and Conway Regional Medical in Conway.

Link here for the full list of grades in the spring report.