The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C-based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, released new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide. UNC Lenoir Health Care received an A for the second time this year.  

Robert Enders, President and CEO of UNC Lenoir Health Care stated. “Patient safety has always and will always be a top priority for us. Our hospital is a trusted part of this community. We strive for greater excellence in patient safety and work diligently to maintain our “A” rating.”

 “Our goal is to inform patients about local hospitals with the best safety measures in place and the strongest records,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Every hospital can earn an ‘A’ grade, and we’re proud of the hospitals that are committed to making an effort to protect patients from harm.”

Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to approximately 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

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.

UNC Lenoir licensed for 199 beds, is a not-for-profit hospital dedicated to the community it serves by offering quality inpatient, outpatient and preventive healthcare services that are close to home. In addition to general medical, surgical, and obstetrical and gynecological care, UNC Lenoir offers specialized services including cardiology, pulmonology, oncology, radiology and urology.

Surgical specialties include general, orthopedic and bariatric with a staff trained to provide special care during recovery. With a medical staff of over 100 physicians, UNC Lenoir offers a range of specialty services and technology one would only expect to find at hospitals in larger cities. Learn more at unclenoir.org.