By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A national nonprofit safety advocacy organization has again awarded Alabaster’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center with its top score for patient safety, the hospital announced on Nov. 1.

The Leapfrog Group, which annually grades hospitals on their patient safety performance, awarded SBMC a grade of A for the fall of 2017. When determining the scores, Leapfrog looks at how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections, and is “compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts in patient safety,” according to the hospital.

“At Shelby Baptist Medical Center, we are committed to making sure our patients feel comfortable in knowing they are receiving the best treatment in the safest possible environment. The physicians and staff are more than deserving of this high mark, as their dedication shows their commitment to helping our patients, and the community, live happier, healthier lives,” Shelby Baptist Chief Executive Officer Mike Rickman wrote in a statement. “We are proud to be recognized as an ‘A’ hospital for patient safety by The Leapfrog Group, as a testament of our commitment to providing high-quality care.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

Over the past several years, SBMC has earned multiple top grades and accolades from The Leapfrog Group, including being named a “Top performer on key quality measures,” and earning previous top grades for patient safety.