Athens, Tenn., December 14, 2020 – Starr Regional Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Starr Regional Medical Center’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care 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.

“We are very pleased with this high mark, which places us among the top tier of hospitals across the country when it comes to patient safety,” said John McLain, chief executive officer of Starr Regional Medical Center. “I am extremely proud of our employees and providers for their tireless commitment to providing high-quality patient care. The way our team continues to care for our community during the COVID-19 pandemic is further proof of how we always put quality and safety first – and it reinforces how deserving our facility is of this grade.”

“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 Starr 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.

Starr Regional Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see Starr Regional Medical Center’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

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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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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.

About Starr Regional Medical Center
Starr Regional Medical Center, part of LifePoint Health, is a two-hospital system with campuses in Athens and Etowah. The Athens campus provides inpatient and outpatient services through its 118-bed acute care facility and physician practices. Starr Regional Medical Center's Etowah campus is home to an emergency department, outpatient services, an 88-bed skilled and long-term care nursing home, a senior care program and wound care center. For more information about Starr Regional Medical Center, please call (423) 745-1411 or visit StarrRegional.com. For more information about LifePoint Health, visit www.LifePointHealth.net.