Mercy Hospital Jefferson Earns A Grade for Patient Safety from The Leapfrog Group

Mercy Hospital Jefferson has earned an A grade for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog. Mercy Jefferson was among the 32% of hospitals nationwide to earn this distinction, one of only 10 in Missouri and one of only three in the St. Louis region, along with Mercy Hospital Washington. This is the third straight A for Mercy Jefferson and its 15th A in the last 18 grading periods over the last nine years.

“Achieving an A grade is difficult. Maintaining the high level of care needed to keep that A grade is just as hard,” said Dan Eckenfels, president of Mercy Jefferson Communities. “Every one of our caregivers should be proud to have earned this honor. It takes all of them, regardless of their role, making patient safety and high-quality care a priority. They put in the work to earn this recognition – and earn the trust of our community here in Jefferson County.”

Leapfrog rates hospitals on an A to F grading scale after reviewing more than 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.

Nine other Mercy hospitals also earned the highest rating. Mercy Hospital Jefferson, Mercy Hospital Washington, Mercy Hospital Springfield and Mercy Hospital Lebanon accounted for four of the 10 A grades in Missouri. Mercy Hospital Pittsburg in Kansas, Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Arkansas, and Mercy Hospital Ada, Mercy Hospital Ardmore and Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City in Oklahoma also earned A grades.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, injuries and infections that can lead to harm or even death. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring. To see Mercy’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

“My sincere congratulations to Mercy Hospital Jefferson for upholding patient safety standard through thick and thin, achieving an A hospital safety grade,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Consistently earning an A demonstrates a long-term, organization-wide commitment to putting patient safety first.”