LUMBERTON — A nonprofit watchdog group has given UNC Health Southeastern a “B” safety grade for spring 2022.

The grade from The Leapfrog Group was announced this week during National Hospital Week and National Nurses Week, celebrations held each May to recognize the contributions of nurses to the medical community and hospitals as a beacon for health care throughout the nation.

According to their website, “Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are assigned to nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals across the nation twice annually. The Safety Grade uses up to 22 national patient safety measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, and information from other supplemental data sources, to produce a single letter grade representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.”

Areas evaluated by the group include processes such as how often treatment is administered; structures, for example, whether medications are ordered through a computer; and outcomes, or what happens while receiving care.

“I am proud of all our team members and the work they do for every patient, every day,” said Lori Dove, UNC Health Southeastern senior vice president and chief operating officer. “They provide exceptional care in a high quality and safe environment all while focusing on the individual needs of each patient and family. The Leapfrog Safety Grade acknowledges that UNC Health Southeastern is among the best in the nation at providing safe and effective care.”

UNC Health Southeastern voluntarily reports some of the data used for grading through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey as a way to evaluate not only how they are measured in terms of safety for continuous improvement but also how they measure up against other health systems in their market.

“The score that was achieved during this grading period continues to demonstrate UNC Health Southeastern’s commitment to exceeding patient safety standards and demonstrating quality outcomes,” Dove said. “We continue to be recognized by national organizations for the excellent work that our teams provide daily.”

Grading through Leapfrog is often affected by how data is collected and reported, meaning that reporting practices must align with Leapfrog methodologies in order to positively reflect in scoring.

Leapfrog grades are issued twice annually and are reported publicly on their website at www.leapfroggroup.org.