FALLS CHURCH, VA – October 28, 2015 – The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog, today announced that Inova Alexandria, Inova Fair Oaks, Inova Fairfax, Inova Loudoun and Inova Mount Vernon hospitals all earned ‘A’ grades in the national patient safety ratings. Leapfrog grades hospitals based on errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Hospital Safety Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“Inova prides itself in working diligently to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections, while providing the best possible care to our patients,” Loring Flint, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Inova. “Receiving the top grade across the system underscores our commitment to patient safety and reminds patients that Inova hospitals deliver safe and quality care, every time, every touch.”

“All five Inova hospitals receiving an A grade is a powerful reminder of the health system’s commitment to putting patient safety above all else, and we are pleased to recognize the persistent efforts of Inova’s clinicians and staff to protect your patients,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “Our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends deserve a hospital that will pull out all the stops to keep them safe, and we urge Inova and all other A hospitals to preserve and renew their commitment to safety year after year.”

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with 773 hospitals receiving an A grade. The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. Patients can also review their hospital’s past safety performance alongside its current grade on the Hospital Safety Score site, allowing them to determine which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and which have demonstrated consistent improvement.

To see Inova’s full scores, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

Media Contact: Tracy Connell, tracy.connell@inova.org

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.