Wilkes Medical Center Nationally Recognized with an “A” for the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

December 14, 2020

Wake Forest Baptist Health–Wilkes Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the medical center’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

“We are honored to receive this recognition and it is particularly special given the impact COVID-19 has had on our community”, said Chad Brown, president of Wilkes Medical Center.  “Our staff have gone above and beyond and have risen to the challenge.  This A grade is one of many ways that highlight our priority to take care of our community and provide safe, quality care to our patients.”

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses a number of measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year.

We are pleased to have once again received a grade of ‘A’ in the fall Leapfrog survey,” said Hayes Calvert, D.O., chief medical officer at Wilkes Medical Center. “I am so proud of and grateful to our entire staff for their ongoing efforts this year as health care has faced unprecedented challenges. We want those in our community to know that we are always committed to delivering safe, high-quality and compassionate patient- and family-centered care to every person we serve.”

To see Wilkes Medical Center’s full grade details, learn how employers can help, and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.