Newport Hospital has earned its seventh consecutive ‘A’ grade for safety from Leapfrog – the longest streak in the state – while also being named one of Leapfrog’s 2020 Top Hospitals in the country, the only hospital in the state to make the list.

Newport Hospital received the ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Grades, recognizing the hospital’s achievements in providing safer health care. The hospital has received the top grade in each of the last seven twice-yearly ratings that Leapfrog issues.

The achievement coincides with Leapfrog presenting Newport Hospital a 2020 Top Hospital Award, The award is given to less than 5 percent of all eligible hospitals in the country. Honorees are divided into four categories, with Newport joining 28 other “Top General Hospitals.”

“Safety is our number one priority and something we focus on unrelentingly, from our daily manager ‘safety huddles’ to address timely safety concerns to the conscientious care our medical professionals deliver to patients every single day,” said Newport Hospital President Crista F. Durand. “Being named a Top Hospital in the country, in addition to achieving a seventh straight A-grade from Leapfrog, is a reflection of our unwavering pursuit of excellence and the hard work and commitment of our entire staff, even as we navigate the daunting challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Excellence across many areas of hospital care are considered for the Top Hospital award, including preventing infections, reducing unnecessary C-sections, avoiding medication errors, maternity care, and safe surgery. Data used to identify Top Hospitals are gathered and publicly reported through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. The Survey compares hospitals’ performance on national standards of patient safety, quality, efficiency, and management structures that prevent errors. The data collected also enable hospitals to benchmark their progress toward The Leapfrog Group’s standards and measure the care they deliver.

“2020 put hospitals nationwide to the test in the most unforeseen and unprecedented ways, so we are particularly proud to recognize excellence in the hospital industry this year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “All hospitals deserve our gratitude and these facilities, in particular, shine. Receiving the Top Hospital award, Leapfrog’s most prestigious and competitive award, should be celebrated. But all facilities that participate with Leapfrog deserve recognition for upholding the highest possible standards for patient care. That’s the level of commitment and transparency all Americans deserve when they entrust their lives to a hospital.”

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals. 
 

Richard Salit

Senior Public Relations Officer
The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital, Gateway Healthcare
401-793-7484
[email protected]