Sarasota Memorial Hospital received another “A” in the Fall 2022 Hospital Safety report cards released by the Leapfrog Group Wednesday. The national distinction recognizes the Sarasota hospital for its continuous achievements in protecting hospitalized patients from medical errors and preventable harm. The latest grades provide a continuing look at the impact of COVID-19 on patient safety in nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide, as well as a new focus on a decade of patient safety initiatives demonstrated by the nation’s hospitals. Many hospitals that received lower scores in the pandemic-era timeframe, reflecting how patient care worsened due to strains on the health care system and workforce, improved during the latest grading period. Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital in the region that has maintained a straight-A streak since 2016. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. Leapfrog assigns grades to hospitals based on 30 national performance measures reflecting each hospital’s record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The grading system is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring to help patients choose the safest hospitals for their care. SMH-Venice, which opened in November 2021, was not open long enough to be included in Leapfrog’s current study. The Leapfrog grading system is peer-reviewed, free to the public and designed to help patients choose the safest hospitals for their care. To view the Fall 2022 result, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.