ROCK HILL, SC- Piedmont Medical Center received the top grade in The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, representing the hospital’s continued commitment to delivering safe, high-quality healthcare services to the York County community.

This “A” grade is one of the most meaningful honors a hospital can achieve, and one of the most valuable indicators for patients looking for a safe place to receive care. The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, nonprofit hospital safety watchdog. The Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay. Piedmont also received an “A” grade in the Fall 2014, Spring 2014 and Fall 2013 updates.

“Every day, our team is focused on improving outcomes and enhancing the safety of the care we deliver,” said Bill Masterton, Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont Medical Center. “We are proud to receive an “A” grade in safety from The Leapfrog Group, as we believe it reflects the hard work of our team to position our hospital as a leading, trusted provider of care for the patients we have the privilege to serve.”

The Leapfrog Blue Ribbon Expert Panel selected 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data, analyzed the data and determined the weight of each measure based on evidence, opportunity for improvement and impact. Hospital Safety Scores are assigned to more than 2,500 hospitals across the nation twice annually. The Hospital Safety Score is becoming the gold standard measure of patient safety, cited recently in MSNBC, The New York Times, and AARP The Magazine. 

“Piedmont Medical Center’s “A” grade validates its achievement in preventing harm within the hospital, and we are proud to recognize the efforts of the care providers and staff,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “Patient safety requires constant vigilance, and we encourage Piedmont Medical Center and all other “A” hospitals to continue demonstrating unrelenting commitment to patients by consistently providing a safe environment for care.”  

About Piedmont Medical Center

Piedmont Medical Center is a full service 288-bed hospital serving York, Lancaster and Chester counties. Piedmont has more than 350 physicians on staff, representing a broad range of over 40 medical specialties and subspecialties. The hospital’s main campus includes the Heart and Vascular Center which offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services, including an accredited Chest Pain center with PCI designation. This designation means Piedmont can provide emergency coronary interventions such as balloon angioplasty and stent placement. Piedmont has offered a heart surgery program to the community since 1997. Piedmont is also an Advanced Primary Stroke Center honored with a Get with the Guidelines Gold Plus Honor Roll Elite Award.

PMC has earned the SC Distinguished Hospital of the Year Award from DHEC in 2010 and 2013 and currently boasts a fourth straight semester with a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score Grade of “A”.

Piedmont provides emergency services in our newly expanded Emergency Department, an accredited cancer program, endoscopy, a bariatric medicine program, women’s services in The Women’s Center, orthopaedics, neurosurgery and psychiatric services. The medical center has several outpatient facilities, including diagnostic services, Sleep Center and Wound Care Center.  Piedmont is affiliated with Piedmont Physician Network, a network of primary and sub-specialty physician practices (www.pmcphysiciannetwork.com).

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.