The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit health care ratings organization, released new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades this week:

The Safety Grade assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D and F twice annually - in the spring and fall - to hospitals nationwide based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms.

St. Luke’s University Health Network campuses - Bethlehem, Allentown, Anderson, Miners, Monroe and Warren - were among a select group of hospitals across the nation awarded an “A” for their commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S.

“This A rating is an important validation of St. Luke’s continued focus on and commitment to patient safety, which in light of COVID-19 is more important now than ever,” St. Luke’s Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol said.

“St. Luke’s superior safety ratings demonstrate that our facilities are safe and ready to treat patients even during this time of COVID-19.”

Lehigh Valley Hospital

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, LVH–Muhlenberg and LVH–Hazleton each was awarded an ‘A’ grade on the Hospital Safety Grade report from The Leapfrog Group for spring.

Brian Nester, LVHN president and chief executive officer, said the recognition solidifies the health network’s ability to provide the care the community expects and deserves, even during unprecedented times.

“During a pandemic, emergency situations like heart attacks, strokes or injuries don’t stop,” Nester said. “We’re proud to be able to safely care for all our patients, not just those with COVID-19. These ‘A’ grades from Leapfrog are a reflection of the skilled people - physicians, nurses and many, many others - who have gone the extra mile to take care of our community.”

This is the sixth straight ‘A’ for LVH–Muhlenberg in Bethlehem.

Making the grade

“As the nation 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.

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 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 methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Full grade details and patient tips for staying safe in the hospital are available at hospitalsafetygrade.org and by following The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.