Mercy Medical Center Earns ‘A’ Safety Grade from Leapfrog Group

SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Mercy’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent, national watchdog organization committed to healthcare quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C,’ ‘D,’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections, and other harms to patients in their care.

“This national recognition serves as independent confirmation of Mercy Medical Center’s successful commitment to excellence,” said Deborah Bitsoli, market president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to all affiliated and employed primary-care providers and specialists, as well as all hospital-based providers, for their efforts. In addition to our providers, I want to thank all of our staff for their unwavering commitment to patient safety and quality and for their combined efforts that contributed to this significant milestone for Mercy Medical Center.

Dr. Robert Roose, chief medical officer of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates, added that “Mercy’s clinical providers and colleagues who support patient care take great pride in the work they do, always treating our patients with respect and compassion. The ‘A’ rating not only reflects their commitment to high-quality care, but also their efforts to strive for an ever-increasing level of excellence in patient safety. This achievement also underscores the consistent efforts of our Quality Department, as well as the teamwork of all colleagues in building Mercy’s culture of high reliability and safety.”

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year.