The Leapfrog Group releases its national Hospital Safety Grade report for spring 2021

(This material is embargoed until Thursday, April 29th. The updated rankings for all states—plus D.C.—will be available at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/your-hospitals-safety-grade/state-rankings.) -- GENERAL/NATIONAL WRAP (:60) -- Some hospitals are better at protecting their patients than others. That’s why the nonprofit watchdog, “The Leapfrog Group”, issues its “Hospital-Safety Grade”, twice a year; the report features a letter-grade of “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, or “F” that’s assigned, by experts, to the nation’s general-hospitals. Leah Binder [like “bind”, not “bin”] is “Leapfrog’s” president and C-E-O… “This has been a hard year for everyone—especially frontline-workers at hospitals. Our well-being depends on their safety—and the safety of the patients whom they care for. But sadly, even before the pandemic, safety has been a problem in hospitals; in fact, more than 500 people, each day, die of preventable infections and medical errors. That’s why our grades are important—especially now. Someday, every hospital will earn an ‘A’; until then, you can protect yourself, by finding the safest hospital that’s available for you.” To compare local hospitals, for free, visit “hospital-safety-grade”-dot-org. -- ADDITIONAL SOUNDBITES FOR FIVE HIGHLIGHTED STATES -- Florida: “In our latest ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’, 42-percent of graded hospitals in Florida earned an ‘A’. It’s great to see that those hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from medical errors and infections. Find the grades of your local hospitals at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” Massachusetts: “In our latest ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’, Massachusetts ranks first in the nation; we gave more than half of Massachusetts’ graded hospitals an ‘A’. Those hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from medical errors and infections—which, in turn, means [that] many lives in Massachusetts are being saved. Find the grades of your local hospitals at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” North Carolina: “In our latest ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’, North Carolina ranks fifth in the nation; we gave nearly half of North Carolina’s graded hospitals an ‘A’. Those hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from medical errors and infections—which, in turn, means [that] many lives in North Carolina are being saved. Find the grades of your local hospitals at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” Pennsylvania: “In our latest ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’, 45-percent of graded hospitals in Pennsylvania earned an ‘A’. It’s great to see that those hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from medical errors and infections. Find the grades of your local hospitals at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” Virginia: “In our latest ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’, Virginia ranks fourth in the nation; we gave half of Virginia’s graded hospitals an ‘A’. Those hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from medical errors and infections—which, in turn, means [that] many lives in Virginia are being saved. Find the grades of your local hospitals at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.”