This spring, UPMC Western Maryland once again received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national organization that aims to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. “A” is the Leapfrog Group’s highest possible rating. It reflects teams’ efforts and achievements on measures like infection and fall prevention, hand hygiene and surgical outcomes.

“This recognition from Leapfrog Group reflects a deep commitment to safety and quality on the part of the physicians, nurses and staff members across our system,” said Tami Minnier, UPMC’s chief quality and operational excellence officer. “Our teams bring excellence to the communities we serve, with compassionate care as our guiding North Star.”

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization that assigns letter grades to general hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.

“We are thrilled to once again receive the Leapfrog Patient Safety Grade of an ‘A’ at UPMC Western Maryland. This recognition is a direct reflection of the high quality of care that our teams of caregivers provide,” said David Burwell, M.D., UPMC’s chief quality officer in West Central Pa. and Maryland. “This honor covers every area of our hospital and showcases to our community that we are amongst the best in the country when delivering on patient safety.”