LincolnHealth Hospital received an A in the latest Leapfrog Group safety score, marking the fifth consecutive time the community hospital has received the top mark since Leapfrog began releasing grades.

The Leapfrog Group has released a safety score for participating hospitals about every six months since 2012. The Miles Campus of LincolnHealth is one of only 251 hospitals in the country to receive the highest grade in each period.

In the most recent ranking, more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide received a grade from A through F, reflecting the safety of care at those facilities as measured by the incidents of preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections. About 32 percent received an A.

James Donovan, President and CEO of Lincoln County Healthcare, the parent company of LincolnHealth, said the scores reflect the commitment of doctors, nurses and other clinical staff to care for their community.

“Offering safe, high quality care is not something that happens overnight. It is about a culture that has developed over the years and the decades, by clinical leaders, doctors and nurses always putting the patient first,” said Donovan.

When the Leapfrog Group or some other organization analyzes how often LincolnHealth patients have to be readmitted to a hospital soon after they are discharged, or how well emergency department doctors and nurses follow best practices for heart attack patients, they are capturing that commitment in a statistical snapshot, said Donovan.

That dedication also comes through in a variety of other recognition.

In the past year alone, LincolnHealth was named a top rural hospital by the Leapfrog Group and received the top safety rating from Consumer Reports Magazine in a recent article about the safety of hospital care nationwide.

Donovan said that high quality care is a result of a partnership between all parts of Lincoln County Healthcare including Lincoln Medical Partner physicians and Miles & St. Andrews Home Health & Hospice providers who care for patients after they leave the hospital.

The Leapfrog Group is a not-for-profit organization made up of private and public employers that works to promote quality and safety in hospitals by encouraging greater transparency and by rewarding hospitals that have made important improvements in providing safe and effective care.