FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley Health, the parent company for Bladen County Hospital, has earned an A grade for patient safety from a leading independent hospital watchdog group.

The grade was announced recently in The LeapFrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score ratings survey. Cape Fear Valley Health was the only health system in Southeastern North Carolina to receive an A.

The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score rating system is considered the gold standard for patient safety. It is the first and only hospital rating system to be peer-reviewed by the Journal of Patient Safety.

Safety ratings are important because they allow patients to determine which local hospitals have the best patient safety track record and which consistently demonstrate improvement.

“Cape Fear Valley’s A grade is a powerful reminder of its commitment to putting patient safety above all else,” said Leah Binder, present and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We are pleased to recognize the persistent efforts of Cape Fear Valley’s clinicians and staff to protect its patients.”

The Leapfrog group reviews 28 measures of publicly available safety data from hospitals nationwide to produce a single A, B, C, D or F score for each facility. The grades represent a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.

Just 773 hospitals nationwide earned an A grade in latest Hospital Safety Score survey. More than 2,500 hospitals nationwide were reviewed.

“I could not be more proud of our achievement,” said Michael Nagowski, Cape Fear Valley Health CEO. “I’d like to thank all of our staff and physicians for everything they do, everyday, for our patients and our community.”