Brownsville, Texas – Valley Regional Medical Center has earned an ‘A’ for the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to healthcare quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

 “At Valley Regional Medical Center, patient safety has always been our top priority,” said Art Garza, chief executive officer at Valley Regional Medical Center. “I am honored we have achieved an A-rating and am tremendously proud and thankful for our medical staff and care teams for their commitment to delivering higher-quality care to our patients, especially during these unprecedented times.”

 “We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Valley Regional Medical Center. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.”

 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 2,600 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 fall 2020 safety grades were announced on Dec. 14. To see Valley Regional Medical Center’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit Hospital Safety Grade and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.  

About Valley Regional Medical Center

Valley Regional Medical Center is a full-service, 214-bed acute care hospital that provides a wide range of quality services including advanced diagnostic imaging, bariatrics, interventional cardiac catheterization, open-heart surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and women’s and children’s services. Serving Brownsville and the surrounding Rio Grande Valley communities for over 45 years, Valley Regional Medical Center is a nationally accredited Primary Stroke Center and its emergency department is a designated Level III Trauma Center. Valley Regional Medical Center is part of the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division. For more information on Valley Regional Medical Center’s programs and services, visit Valley Regional Medical Center.

About HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division

HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division is a comprehensive network of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, emergency centers and diagnostic imaging facilities in greater Houston, Corpus Christi and South Texas. Facilities in the Gulf Coast Division include: 16 hospitals, 10 ambulatory care centers, 16 off-campus emergency centers, and a regional transfer center that provides on-phone-call access and support for patient transfers into and out of the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division hospitals as well as access to ground and air transportation within a 150-mile radius. HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division is part of HCA Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of quality healthcare services with 184 hospitals in the United States and England. For more information, visit HCA Gulf Coast

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 collects and transparently reports hospital 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.