System News

Roper Hospital, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital and Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital received the highest grade from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national accolade recognizing hospitals for protecting patients from preventable harm or error.

“This is the best possible news to receive during National Healthcare Week and Nurses Week as this is a significant affirmation of our commitment to safe, high-quality care,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. DiLisi, president and CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare. “These grades show the community the extent that our nurses, physicians and teammates go to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.”

The three Roper St. Francis Healthcare hospitals received the coveted “A” grades – a honor only 18 other South Carolina hospitals received. A total of 51 hospitals in the state were graded.

Just 33 percent of hospitals nationwide received an "A" rating. This is the sixth consecutive "A" Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital while this is the fourth consecutive "A" for Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital. Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital, which opened in October 2019, received a “B” as its first-ever Leapfrog grade, and the hospital already has taken steps to bolster its safety and earn an “A” grade in the fall.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

“As our health care system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the workforce and leadership of Roper St. Francis Healthcare for sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire health care workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud.”

To see full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, and via its newsletter.