Valley Health’s Acute Care Hospitals Recognized for Continued Top Tier Patient Safety Performance

Warren Memorial Hospital and Winchester Medical Center Earn ‘A’ Grades for Safety

Valley Health’s two acute care hospitals – Warren Memorial Hospital (WMH) and Winchester Medical Center (WMC) – have once again earned “A” Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog organization focused on patient safety. WMC earned its 10^th straight “A” and WMH its 6^th straight “A” grade in the fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grades release. WMH is among an elite group of only 15 hospitals in Virginia to have earned six consecutive “A” grades since the spring of 2022. WMC is one of only 13 hospitals in the state to demonstrate “A” grade patient safety ten times in a row since the spring of 2020.

“Patient safety is our top priority at Valley Health, and we are incredibly proud that both of our acute care hospitals — Winchester Medical Center and Warren Memorial Hospital — have been consistently recognized for their top-tier performance in keeping patients safe,” said Tonya Smith, president, Winchester Medical Center, and senior vice president of acute care for Valley Health. “Our community and our patients deserve the very best, and our care team’s resolute commitment to patient safety is what makes that possible.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The Leapfrog Group assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to nearly 3,000 general acute care hospitals across the country based on over 30 evidence-based patient safety performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems in place to prevent harm. Grades are updated twice annually, in the spring and fall.

“Being able to provide this level of care for our community is truly an honor and a privilege,” said Warren Memorial Hospital Administrator Jennifer Coello. “Receiving our sixth straight ‘A’ grade for patient safety is a source of great pride for our entire care team, and a reflection of our commitment to every patient who comes through our doors.”

Fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grades can be viewed at HospitalSafetyGrade.org and sorted by city, state, or zip code. This is a quick way for consumers to choose the safest hospital in their area to seek care. The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grade is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, free to the public, and intended to help consumers protect themselves and their families from medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The latest Hospital Safety grades show significant variation in patient safety performance across U.S. hospitals, which underscores the importance of access to information that allows patients to select the safest hospitals in their region for care.