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(ST. JOSEPH) - Today, Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals in Niles and St. Joseph received “A” Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog that upholds patient safety standards in hospitals nationwide. 

Leapfrog assigns A to F grades every spring and fall. This spring’s grades reflect performance primarily during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past five cycles, the Niles hospital has received “A” grades while the St. Joseph hospital has received “A” grades for the past three cycles in a row.

“Quality and safety are foundational to the care we provide our community,” said Rob Nolan, DO, vice president of quality, safety and experience for Corewell Health in Southwest Michigan. “We're very proud to once again have received an ‘A’ Safety Grade from Leapfrog at our Niles and St. Joseph hospitals. This achievement reflects the tremendous work and effort our teams dedicate to ensuring quality care and keeping our patients safe.”

The grades are based on more than 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. Only 29% of eligible hospitals were awarded an “A” this spring.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” Leapfrog Group President/CEO Leah Binder said. “But these hospitals received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made that possible.”