Belton, MO - Belton Regional Medical Center was awarded an 'A' in fall 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the hospital's achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of healthcare committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' or 'F' grade to all general hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

Belton Regional Medical Center is part of HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City's leading healthcare provider.

"An 'A' grade from The Leapfrog Group is the gold standard for patient safety," says Belton Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Todd Krass. "Patients and their families throughout southern Cass and northern Jackson counties turn to us for safe hospital care and this rating reflects our commitment to patient safety."

"'A' hospitals show us their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error," says Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "It takes genuine commitment at every level—from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors—and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A."

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. 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.

Belton Regional Medical Center was awarded an 'A' grade today, when Leapfrog announced grades for the fall 2019 update. To see Belton Regional Medical Center's full grade details, learn how employers can help, and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit their site and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.