HICKORY, N.C., Nov. 20, 2018 – Frye Regional Medical Center was awarded its ninth consecutive ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. 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.

This is the Frye Regional’s ninth consecutive “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group. (Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018)

“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like Frye Regional 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,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “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.

Frye Regional was one of 855 across the United States awarded an ‘A’ in the Fall 2018 update of grades.

“We are also hardwiring proven communication tactics including bedside shift reporting and patient leader rounding to improve the collaboration between our care teams,” said Lisa Meosky, Quality Management Director for Frye Regional Medical Center. “Achieving another ‘A’ rating is a tremendous honor for our entire clinical and support team.”

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 forward in the quality and safety of American health care. 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. 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.