NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Southcoast Health has been recognized for its dedication to patient safety by being awarded an “A” grade in the Spring 2017 Hospital Safety Grades, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections within the hospital. Southcoast Health’s three hospitals – St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and Tobey Hospital in Wareham – were each recognized with the top rating.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide. St. Luke’s, Charlton Memorial and Tobey were three of 823 hospitals to receive an “A” for its commitment to reducing errors, infections, and accidents that can harm patients.

“Patient safety is paramount to everyone at Southcoast Health,” said Keith Hovan, President & CEO of Southcoast Health. “When patients are admitted to a Southcoast Health hospital, they and their families can be confident that we have the personnel, training and systems in place to maintain the highest level of clinical care and patient safety.”

The Hospital Safety Grades are compiled under the guidance of patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. The Hospital Safety Grades are free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“Hospitals that earn top marks nationally in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade have achieved the highest safety standards in the country,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “That takes commitment from every member of the hospital staff, who all deserve thanks and congratulations when their hospitals achieve an ‘A’ Safety Grade.”

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Grades use 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 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.

To see the full scores for Southcoast Health’s three hospitals, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Grades on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Grades mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

This is the second patient safety award that Southcoast Health has earned this month. Earlier in April, Southcoast Health achieved the Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award, placing it among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for its excellent performance.