Mercy’s Arkansas hospitals, Washington Regional earn top safety scores from watchdog group

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Mercy’s Arkansas hospitals and Washington Regional earned top scores in patient safety from The Leapfrog Group.

According to Washington Regional, the nonprofit watchdog group sets standards for patient safety and assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals based on more than 30 measures to prevent errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The hospitals received an “A” grade.

Mercy says this is its 16th “A” in a row for Mercy Fort Smith and the 10th “A” in a row for Mercy Northwest Arkansas.

Mercy says only 29% of hospitals received an A grade from Leapfrog this spring.

“Patient safety is an essential part of fulfilling our mission of improving the health of people in the communities we serve,” said Washington Regional President and CEO Larry Shackelford. “Washington Regional is honored to again achieve the highest grade possible. This most recent A grade highlights our team members’ commitment to providing high-quality, compassionate care for our patients each day.”

“Our ‘straight A’ status demonstrates that Mercy’s commitment to patient safety is second to none,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas Communities. “Our communities trust us to provide safe, high-quality care, and it’s an honor for us to fulfill those obligations time and again. We are grateful that our co-workers continue to make this possible.”

The hospitals say The Leapfrog Group is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries. Grades are updated twice annually in the fall and spring. Full-grade details for the hospitals can be found here .

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