Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades — the most complete picture of patient safety in the U.S. — awarded Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) another “A” in its fall 2019 report card. The independent national watchdog organization recognized the nonprofit hospital’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades of A, B, C, D and F to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Only 17 of the 46 South Carolina hospitals participating in the survey received the top grade in the most recent ranking.

BMH has received an “A” in six of the eight report cards posted since 2016. In this latest report, it scored the highest rating in the four categories of Safety Problems.

“Earning an ‘A’ year after year is a testament to the effort our staff makes to ensure we meet the highest safety standards and protect patients from avoidable errors, accidents and infections,” BMH President and CEO Russell Baxley said. “It requires constant vigilance from the time a patient enters our doors to keep their safety a top priority.”

To view the results of the fall 2019 report card, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org. The website also offers tips to help patients stay safe in the hospital.