Sarasota Memorial Hospital received top marks in the fall 2023 Hospital Safety Report Cards released today by the Leapfrog Group. Leapfrog assigned letter grades to nearly 3,000 general hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents and infections. The latest grades show hospitals reducing health care-acquired infections (HAIs) post-pandemic after significant increases in infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. SMH-Sarasota continued a straight “A” streak it has held since 2016 and has been among a select group of hospitals that maintained its strong safety record during the pandemic years and its challenging aftermath. The new grades are the first to reflect hospital performance post-pandemic. This cycle, nearly 30% of hospitals earned an "A," 24% earned a "B," 39% earned a "C," 7% earned a "D" and less than 1% earned an "F." Sarasota Memorial’s ranking comes on top of a growing list of national accolades, including multiple “Best Hospital” rankings and ratings for 2023-2024 from U.S. News & World Report, Magnet designation for 20 consecutive years, and repeated recognition on Newsweek’s list of the “World’s Best Hospitals.” SMH-Sarasota also is the only hospital in Florida to consistently earn the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ highest 5-star quality award since the federal government launched the rating system in 2016. SMH-Venice has not been open long enough to be graded in this cycle of report cards. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The Leapfrog grading system is fully transparent, free to the public and updated biannually to help patients choose the safest hospitals for their care. To view the Fall 2023 result, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.