Vaughan Regional Medical Center (VRMC)  is celebrating the results of the annual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade survey, which awarded the local hospital an ‘A’ for “protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare.”

The national recognition from the Leapfrog Group, an “independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of healthcare committed to improving healthcare quality and safety” for consumers and purchasers, is part of an annual effort to rate hospitals across the country on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other potential harms to patients.

“I am very proud of our team in providing the best quality care possible in carrying out our mission of making communities healthier,” said VRMC CEO David McCormack. “This is quite an accomplishment.

According to The Leapfrog Group CEO and President Leah Binder, hospitals that score an ‘A’ have shown “their leadership [in] protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error.”

“It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this [grade],” Binder said.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade, which was developed under the guidance of a “national expert panel,” uses 28 measures of publicly-available hospital safety data to assess more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals nationally twice per year.

The grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent and the results are free to the public.

VRMC scored above average in nearly every metric, but was ranked below average in communications regarding medicines and discharges, patient falls and injuries, as well as communication with doctors and nurses and the responsiveness of hospital staff.

The full results of VRMC’s assessment can be viewed at www.hospital safetygrade.org.

VRMC, the press release stated, is a “sole community provider hospital” in Selma with a 175-bed Joint Commission-accredited facility and more than 600 employees.

The medical staff at VRMC consists of 75 physicians serving in 22 medical specialties providing healthcare for a service area consisting of roughly 90,000 people.

“At Vaughan Regional Medical Center, our expert, caring professional strive daily to ensure that we not just meet but exceed expectations in providing quality healthcare to our patients,” the press release stated. “More importantly, the Vaughan family prides itself on providing excellent care and customer services to the patients, family members and visitors on our campus.”

VRMC garnered similarly high marks from The Leapfrog Group during its surveys in 2018, when it was one of only 855 hospitals across the country to earn the group’s highest score, and in 2017.