DUNN, N.C. – Betsy Johnson Hospital has earned an A grade for Patient Safety. Betsy Johnson Hospital is part of the Harnett Health System, which also includes Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington.

The grade was announced this month in The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score biannual ratings survey. The ratings 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.

“Patient safety is the most important focus for any health system,” said Cory Hess, Harnett Health President. “I am so proud of the entire team for achieving such a prestigious designation from the Leapfrog Group.

“We continue to push ourselves daily to deliver the highest level of care to the patients of Harnett County, and we appreciate the support of our community as we strive to deliver on our promise of becoming one of the preeminent health systems in North Carolina.”

The Leapfrog survey reviews more than two dozen publicly available safety data from more than 2,600 acute care 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.

Of the 2,600 hospitals graded, just 32 percent received an A grade.

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