Sarasota campus has continuous ‘A’ streak going back to 2016, with Venice campus earning third consecutive ‘A’
Both Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) campuses continued earning top marks on The Leapfrog Group’s hospital safety report cards, as noted in the latest updates, released on May 1, the health care system announced.
Issued in the spring and fall of each year, the Leapfrog report cards carry letter grades of A, B, C, D and F for all general hospitals “based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections,” an SMH news release explains.
In the May 1 report cards, the release points out, “SMH-Sarasota continued the straight A streak it has held since 2016, while the newer SMH-Venice hospital, which opened in late 2021, earned its third A after receiving consecutive A’s in its first two grading periods last year.” The release explains, “Hospitals must be open for two years before Leapfrog begins assigning them safety grades.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of our teams for their continued diligence and dedication to our patients and community,” said Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder in the release. “As the region’s largest public health system, and only not-for-profit health system on the Suncoast, we have been serving our growing community for 100 years,” Verinder continued in the release. “Our physicians, nurses and staff working on the front lines and behind the scenes are providing safe, high-quality care in nearly 2 million patient visits a year, and they have been doing that consistently, year after year.”
The release notes, “An independent rating organization, Leapfrog bases its safety grades on hospital survey data and patient safety outcomes and measures obtained from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hospitals cannot pay for the honor or opt out of the safety review. Approximately 12% of hospitals nationwide have received straight A’s in Leapfrog’s last five reporting periods (since spring 2023).”
“All hospitals should be proud to earn an A, but they should not rest on that laurel. Patient safety is a relentless, never-ending quest to put patients first,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in the release. “That’s why Leapfrog is highlighting the hospitals across the U.S. that have earned straight A’s for over two years. Sustaining an A over multiple years reflects a deep-rooted commitment to patient safety,” Binder pointed out.
To view the spring 2025 safety grades, results, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.