BELLEFONTAINE – Mary Rutan Hospital received an “A” grade for their commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S., according to the Leapfrog Group, a national non-profit health care organization committed to driving quality, safety and transparency in the U.S. health care system.

The Leapfrog Group assigns A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide. Mary Rutan Hospital was one of a select few hospitals in the region to receive an “A” for its commitment to reducing errors, infections and accidents that can harm patients.

“We are proud to receive an ‘A’ grade from the Leapfrog Group,” said Mandy Goble, president & CEO of Mary Rutan Hospital. “These hard-earned grades are evidence of the outstanding efforts made by our clinical and quality teams to improve patient safety and clinical quality throughout our organization.”

“It takes consistent, unwavering dedication to patients to achieve the highest standards of patient safety,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade recognizes hospitals for this accomplishment. We congratulate the clinicians, board, management and staff at Mary Rutan Hospital for showing the country what it means to put patients first.”

Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

“Our primary focus is to achieve the highest level of safety and quality care for our patients. We continue to set the bar higher each time,” said Dr. Grant Varian, medical director of Mary Rutan Hospital. “This year, we focused on many initiatives to improve the quality, safety and patient experience; this score is an excellent and welcome affirmation of the care our patients expect and receive from Mary Rutan Hospital.”

The honors from Leapfrog are the most recent in a long list of achievements for Mary Rutan Hospital. Previously, Mary Rutan Hospital was recognized as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States and received a top ranking for achieving one of the highest Value-Based Purchasing scores in the State of Ohio. And they were among an elite group of hospitals to achieve Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award, not just once but for three years in a row.

To see Mary Rutan Hospital’s full Leapfrog grade and consumer-friendly tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.