DOVER, NH – Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was awarded an “A” grade for safety Wednesday by the Leapfrog Group, an independent, national not-for-profit watchdog organization.

The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades, ranging from “A” to “F”, to general hospitals throughout the United States. The grades are 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 grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.

“Wentworth-Douglass Hospital continually seeks opportunities to improve quality and patient safety. This focus of continuous performance improvement is deeply embedded in our culture as an organization,” said Wentworth-Douglass president and COO Jeff Hughes. “We voluntarily submit data to Leapfrog to both learn and promote transparency. I am incredibly proud of this organization, and I am gratified for this external affirmation of what our skilled and dedicated staff, clinicians, physicians, and leadership team do each and every day in the care of our patients.” 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. Safety Grade results are updated each fall and spring.

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

The full Leapfrog grade details for hospitals are available online at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.