Lexington Medical Center and Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge were the only two hospitals in the Midlands to receive the top grade.
Nationally, the state ranked 22nd among all states with 34% of its hospitals scoring “A.”
The Leapfrog Group was created in 2000 by a group of businesses and other large health care purchasers who sought to reduce preventable medical mistakes.
Since 2012, the Leapfrog Group has published hospital safety scores to create transparency in the U.S. health system.
The bi-annual surveys — one in the spring and one in the fall — looks at infections, problems with surgery, practices to prevent errors, and doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
Leapfrog graded more than 2,600 hospitals nationwide: 34% earned an “A,” 24% earned a “B,” 35% a “C,” 7% a “D” and less than 1% an F, according to its website.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade is reviewed by a national expert panel and receives guidance from Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, according to its website.
While the data do not yet include findings collected during the height of COVID-19, Leapfrog said the data offer an indication of how well hospitals implemented fundamental safety precautions prior to the pandemic.
