The grade, awarded for Spring 2025, is Leapfrog’s highest national recognition for patient safety.
LEWISTON, ID – St. Joseph Regional Medical Center (“St. Joseph” or “SJRMC”) received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit group that sets standards for excellence in patient safety and care. This marks the second consecutive “A” earned by St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. The hospital was one of only four hospitals in the state of Idaho to receive the top Leapfrog grade for its Spring 2025 update.
Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. Fewer than one-third of the approximately 3,000 hospitals reviewed nationwide earn Leapfrog’s “A” grade.
“This is a wonderful affirmation of our hospital and our team that works so diligently to provide the best possible care in the safest possible manner,” said Ed Freysinger, CEO of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. “Our focus is positive patient outcomes and experiences in a safe environment, and earning top marks from Leapfrog, again, should give patients added confidence in the high-quality care they will receive when they come to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections, and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
“Achieving an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade reflects enormous dedication to patient safety,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I extend my congratulations to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, its leadership, clinicians, staff, and volunteers for creating a culture where patients come first.”
The Leapfrog honor continues a string of positive recognitions and developments at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. In November, St. Joseph earned a Leapfrog A during its Fall 2024 ratings. In September, the hospital earned Level II Stroke Center designation by the state of Idaho’s Time Sensitive Emergency System (TSE). In July, SJRMC earned the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2024 (one of only 259 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor). In December 2023, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center was named a 2024 Maternity Care Access Hospital, an inaugural designation from U.S. News & World Report that recognized the hospital’s exceptional maternity services in an area that might otherwise be a “maternity desert.” And last October, the hospital opened its new 10-bed, acute rehabilitation unit, the only inpatient rehabilitation center in the area.
“Our purpose as a hospital is to provide high-quality healthcare services that meet the community’s needs,” said Freysinger. “If we do our jobs really well, patients come into our doors needing care and walk out healthier. Awards that come our way are great for our hospital and our community, but our greatest reward is sending a patient home in better health.”
To see the safety grades of St. Joseph Regional and other local hospitals, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and search by city/state or zip code.
