Walker Baptist Medical Center Nationally Recognized with an ‘A’ for Spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Recognition marks fourth consecutive ‘A’ Leapfrog hospital safety grade

JASPER, ALA., April 30, 2020 – Walker Baptist Medical Center today received an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the hospital’s achievements in providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The safety grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.

According to Walker Baptist Medical Center CEO, Mike Neuendorf, “With our high standard of safety and commitment to quality care, we are extremely proud to achieve this recognition and mark our fourth consecutive ‘A’ grade for safety. This designation is a testament to our dedicated, highly skilled staff and physicians who are privileged to care for our community and provide our patients with the greatest level of safety and care every day.” 

“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. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Walker Baptist Medical Center. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”

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 twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Walker Baptist Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ grade today, when Leapfrog updated grades for spring 2020. To see the hospital’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.