Fall River, MA – Saint Anne’s Hospital announced today that it has been awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Saint Anne’s achievements providing safer health care. 

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients. 

This is Saint Anne’s 17th consecutive “A” for patient safety since the Leapfrog Group launched the Hospital Safety Grade in 2012. It is one of just 32 hospitals nationwide, and one of three in Massachusetts, to have earned 17 “Straight A’s” for patient safety.

Saint Anne’s Hospital President Michael Bushell commended the hospital’s staff, managers, medical providers, board of directors, and other hospital champions for ensuring the hospital’s ongoing commitment to a culture of safety, high quality care, and emphasis on optimum patient experience.

“Patient safety has always been paramount,” said Bushell, “but now, more than ever, we see the importance of everyone, every day, using behaviors that minimize harmful events and result in safe and reliable outcomes. We are enormously proud of our team’s performance and grateful that their hard work continues to be recognized.”

“As the country copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Saint Anne’s Hospital. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.” 

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades 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.

To see Saint Anne’s Hospital’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook. 

About The Leapfrog Group 

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. 

About Saint Anne’s Hospital

Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in 1906, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a full-service, acute care Catholic hospital with 211 beds and satellite locations in Dartmouth, Attleboro, Swansea, New Bedford, and Stoughton, Massachusetts. A member of Steward Health Care, Saint Anne’s provides nationally recognized patient- and family-centered inpatient care and outpatient clinical services to patients from surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. Saint Anne’s key services include the Center for Orthopedic Excellence; bariatric surgery; multiple robotic-assisted surgical capabilities, including orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, and general surgery; Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center; two ambulatory surgery centers; the Center for Pain Management; and inpatient geriatric psychiatry services. In addition to earning the Leapfrog Group’s “Straight A’s” for patient safety since 2012, Saint Anne’s has earned national recognition for cancer care, spine surgery, bariatric surgery, stroke care, and patient experience. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.