Three Roper St. Francis Healthcare hospitals received "A" Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group for protecting hospital patients from preventable harm and errors.

Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital each earned the top grade possible, according to ratings released Wednesday. This is the sixth consecutive "A" for Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, the fourth consecutive "A" for Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital, and the first "A" for Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital. Roper Hospital earned a B.

"The fact that our facilities not only earned the best grades, but have done so in many cases for multiple years, is another proof point that safety is - and always will be - fundamental to the care we provide," said Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety Marian Savage. "High Leapfrog grades demonstrate our commitment to safety at all levels of the organization including lower infections, medical errors and injuries for our patients."

Overall, 30 percent of hospitals received an "A," 28 percent received a "B," 36 percent received a "C," 6 percent received a "D" and 1 percent received an "F."

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization with a 10-year history of assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital's ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.

The Leapfrog Group released its fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grade on Nov. 16, assigning "A" through "F" letter grades to nearly 3,000 general acute care hospitals in the U.S. for patient safety performance.