WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Demonstrating continued leadership in patient safety, seven Novant Health hospitals achieved “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades for the spring 2026 scoring period, reflecting sustained performance against some of the nation’s most rigorous safety benchmarks. The A-grade Novant Health hospitals ranked among the top-performing facilities nationwide, outperforming nearly 70% of hospitals in the U.S. for patient safety.
“These ‘A’ grades reflect strong performance, but more importantly, a strong safety culture – one that consistently delivers remarkable, dependable care that patients can trust,” said Dr. David Priest, senior vice president and chief safety and quality officer, Novant Health. “Safety excellence is the result of disciplined, unified work carried out every day, with our teams aligned under one model for safety, quality and the patient experience. Our standardized processes, real-time data and practical tools help teams learn quickly, track progress and continuously improve, ultimately equipping them to strengthen the care we provide and drive strong outcomes for the patients we serve.”
The Leapfrog Group awarded the following Novant Health hospitals “A” grades for the Spring 2026 scoring period:
- Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center
- Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center
- Novant Health Matthews Medical Center
- Novant Health Medical Park Hospital*
- Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center*
- Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center*
- Novant Health Rowan Medical Center*
Four facilities (denoted by asterisks above) have also been honored with an elite “Straight A” designation for earning an “A” rating in at least five consecutive cycles of the Hospital Safety Grade, an accomplishment that only 15% of hospitals in this grading cycle have attained.
The Novant Health Institute of Safety & Quality leads the health system’s journey as a high‑reliability organization, advancing a culture of continuous improvement focused on patient safety and quality. Foundational to Novant Health’s safety culture and approach to quality is the HeRo Playbook, a comprehensive guide used consistently across the organization to support excellence in care for every patient. Real-time quality reporting and data analysis, daily safety huddles, patient safety coaches and frequent team member surveys are among the many practices the system has in place.
Novant Health also participates in Vizient's Clinical Data Base, a real-time tool to track outcomes and quality in Novant Health facilities, and to benchmark those measures against hundreds of other participating hospitals across the country. In the latest scoring period, three Novant Health hospitals, Matthews Medical Center, Mint Hill Medical Center and Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center were recognized as top performers in delivering high-quality care by Vizient, Inc., which honored them with a 2025 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award.
The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization, reviews U.S. hospital and patient outcomes across 22 performance measures for safety, quality and patient experience. Nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals across the country are issued a letter grade ranging from A to F for its overall performance.
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