HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital Awarded Spring 2023 ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from Leapfrog Group

HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This national distinction celebrates HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors. The new grades reflect performance primarily during the height of the pandemic.

This is the third consecutive “A” Hospital Safety Grade awarded to the facility.

“Patient safety is at the forefront of everything we do, and I am extremely proud of our teams who continue to relentlessly demonstrate compassion, kindness and commitment to each person we serve,” said HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital CEO Zach McCluskey.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. 

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “But this hospital received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made 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 grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.