HOUSTON (April 29, 2021) – Three St. Luke’s Health hospitals have earned ‘A’ safety grades from The Leapfrog Group, a nationally recognized watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report was released today, a national distinction recognizing hospitals for their strong commitment to protecting patients from injuries and infections.

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

The three health system’s acute care hospitals—Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, St. Luke’s Health-The Woodlands Hospital, and St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital—earned the exclusive designation based on the hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients in their care.

“Earning top scores from The Leapfrog Group signifies the strength of the health system’s quality and patient safety practices and our commitment to keeping patients safe from preventable harm,” said Doug Lawson, PhD, St. Luke’s Health Chief Executive Officer. “I’m proud of our health care providers who have stepped up this past year as they continued to deliver the highest quality of care while managing extraordinary challenges as a result of the pandemic.”

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but St. Luke’s Health shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

To see St. Luke’s Health’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, 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.

About St. Luke’s Health – Texas Division

St. Luke’s Health is a fully-integrated network that provides care to the communities in Greater Houston,  Southeast Texas, and the Brazos Valley through 16 acute care hospitals and over 270 access points including numerous urgent care centers, freestanding emergency departments, and clinics conveniently located across the region. With a team of 11,000 employees and caregivers and more than 5,000 physicians, St. Luke’s Health is dedicated to a mission of enhancing community health through high-quality, cost-effective care. A joint venture with Baylor College of Medicine, St. Luke’s Health operates Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center, a leading academic health center with quaternary care and advanced specialists. St. Luke’s Health is part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. CommonSpirit was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. Learn more at StLukesHealth.org.