Baptist Union County Nationally Recognized with an ‘A’ for the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

New Albany, Miss., January 4, 2021– Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade a national distinction recognizing achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care 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 is a great recognition for our team who continue to work diligently to keep our patients safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said James Grantham, CEO and administrator at Baptist Union County. “While the dedication of our team members to health care quality and safety is significantly important, it is the compassion and empathy for patients and each other that are most appreciated.”

“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Baptist Union County. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.”

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. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Baptist Union County offers a variety of services, including adult and pediatric inpatient care, labor and delivery, surgery, a 24-hour emergency department and diagnostics. The hospital also has 3D mammography, TeleHealth services and an eICU. Baptist Union County has an excellent reputation for providing quality care and recently earned an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group. Most notably, Baptist Union County earned five stars from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the hospital’s quality, outcomes, safety and patient satisfaction. The Chartis Center for Rural Health also recognized the hospital as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the country. For more information about Baptist Union County, please call 662-538-7631 or visit unioncounty.baptistonline.org. 

What is LeapFrog?

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Groupis 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.