Both Piedmont Columbus Regional hospitals were awarded high marks in The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade. In its first year of qualification, Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Northside campus received an “A” score and the Midtown campus received a very high “B” score, .0003 off of the “A” rating. Both scores represent significant national recognition for patient safety. Columbus’ Northside campus was one of six Piedmont hospitals statewide to receive an “A” grade.
 
The designation recognizes Piedmont Columbus Regional’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Group assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harm that can occur to patients in their care.
 
In April, Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Northside Campus opened a new 11,000 square foot Emergency Department to meet the growing needs of residents in North Columbus and Harris County. The Northside Campus has been consistently recognized nationally for patient safety and satisfaction scores by other rating agencies. Most recently, it was named a Milestone 8 Hospital by the Georgia Hospital Association for its excellence and improvement in 14 functional areas of Quality and Patient Safety.
 
Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Midtown Campus is the region’s only safety-net hospital. Midtown Campus, which also serves as Piedmont’s southwest clinical hub, is also home to a Level 2 Trauma Center, Children’s Hospital, Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and is one of only six regional perinatal centers in Georgia.
 
“At Piedmont Columbus Regional, we always put patients first and, accordingly, patient safety is our highest priority,” said Scott Hill, CEO and president of Piedmont Columbus Regional. “The fact that Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Northside and Midtown campuses have both earned such high grades in 2018 is a testament to the quality of care and service that our providers and employees deliver. Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Grades help people make informed decisions when choosing where to seek medical care. Piedmont Columbus Regional has joined the other Piedmont hospitals in embracing the Leapfrog grades as a way to gauge our progress on the journey to improve patient safety and satisfaction.”
 
“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like Piedmont Columbus Regional that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors.”

Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.