McLeod Medical Center Dillon was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The A score was awarded in the latest update to the Hospital Safety Score^SM, the A, B, C, D or F scores assigned to U.S. hospitals based on preventable medical errors, injuries accidents, and infections. The Hospital Safety Score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families.

"McLeod Health continues to be the choice for medical excellence because of the intense focus that is placed on quality and patient safety at each McLeod facility," said Debbie Locklair, Administrator of McLeod Dillon. "On behalf of McLeod Dillon, we thank our patients and community for entrusting us with their care. Our employees and medical staff members are to be commended for devoting their considerable skills and talents to the selfless service of others. Being honored as part of this elite group speaks to their level of skill. Their commitment to caring for the individual patient supports the mission of the McLeod organization."

“Hospitals like this that earn an A have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their community,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I congratulate McLeod Dillon for its safety excellence, and look forward to the day when all hospitals will match this standard.”

To see McLeod Dillon’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. People can also check their local hospital’s score on the free mobile app, available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).

About The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

About McLeod Dillon

With a strong history in the Dillon community since 1943, McLeod Dillon has continued to grow and expand to serve residents of Dillon (SC), Marion (SC) and Robeson (NC) counties with excellence in patient care. The Joint Commission accredited medical center employs 350 and has the strength of 100 physicians on its medical staff. McLeod Dillon offers general and orthopedic surgery, women’s services, emergency services, intensive care, rehabilitative services and cardiac rehabilitation. Investments in state of the art technology to improve patient care have included Open MRI, CT, nuclear study, digital mammography, 4D ultrasounds and vascular studies.