Mercy Arkansas Hospitals Receive Top Grades From Patient Safety Watchdog Group
Mercy Fort Smith, NWA continue ‘Straight A’ streaks during Leapfrog’s fall 2024 grading period
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas have once again earned A grades for hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog committed to health care transparency. The A grades, awarded for fall 2024, reflect more than 30 performance measures – including errors, accidents, injuries, infections and safety protocols – in place to prevent harm.
Mercy’s Arkansas hospitals are designated as “Straight A” hospitals, an honor reserved for health care facilities that have earned at least five consecutive A grades. The most recent grades reflect the 17th consecutive A for Mercy Fort Smith and the 11th straight for Mercy NWA.
Nationwide, only 30% of hospitals achieved an A grade from Leapfrog this fall. In Arkansas, Mercy Fort Smith and Mercy NWA stand out as two of only six hospitals to receive this distinction.
“Our lengthy ‘Straight A’ streaks are a testament to our teams’ commitment to patient safety,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas Communities. “Our caregivers are focused on providing exceptional care each day, and they are to be commended for their efforts. Top grades reflect top-quality care, which is what our communities deserve.”
Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, added, “Achieving an A hospital safety grade is a significant accomplishment for Mercy Arkansas Communities. It reflects enormous dedication to patients and their families, and the whole community should be proud. I extend my congratulations to Mercy, its leadership, clinicians, staff and volunteers for their tireless efforts to put patients first.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the nation’s only rating system focused exclusively on preventing medical errors, infections and injuries that lead to more than 500 patient deaths each day. The grades are updated biannually and are free to the public.
About Mercy
Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation’s largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 900 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 4,500 physicians and advanced practitioners and 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2023 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.
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 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. For more, follow them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram and sign up for their newsletter.
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