Mercy Earns 11 A Grades for Patient Safety from Leapfrog Group

And six Mercy hospitals achieve elite national status with Straight A designation

ST. LOUIS, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercy has earned 11 A grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog. The 11 Mercy hospitals across four states are among 917 hospitals nationwide to earn this distinction.

"Earning top safety grades at 11 Mercy hospitals underscores our unwavering commitment to safe, compassionate, high–quality care," said Kat Nelson, Mercy chief quality officer. "Receiving more A grades than ever before is a powerful testament to the dedication, skill and teamwork of our caregivers across the states we serve. We're incredibly proud of our teams and remain focused on continually improving outcomes so patients can heal and return home with confidence."

Leapfrog assigns an A to F grade to hospitals using 32 evidence-based measures of patient safety focused on errors, accidents, injuries and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.

The 11 hospitals to earn the highest rating are Mercy Fort Smith and Mercy Northwest Arkansas in Arkansas; Mercy Pittsburg in Kansas; Mercy Jefferson, Mercy Lebanon, Mercy Southeast, Mercy St. Louis and Mercy Washington in Missouri; and Mercy Ada, Mercy Ardmore and Mercy Oklahoma City in Oklahoma.

Six Mercy hospitals also earned Leapfrog's Straight A designation, highlighting a long-standing dedication to patient safety and quality care. Hospitals must receive an A grade five grading periods in a row in Leapfrog's twice-annual Hospital Safety Grade assessments to achieve this recognition.

Mercy hospitals with Straight A designations are in Fort Smith and Rogers in Arkansas; Pittsburg, Kansas; Washington, Missouri; and Ada and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma.

"An A Grade is a strong sign that Mercy is deeply committed to protecting patients from harm," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "We commend the leadership, board, clinicians, staff and volunteers for the role each played in earning this distinction."

The other three Mercy hospitals to be graded by Leapfrog earned B safety grades: Mercy Joplin, Mercy South (St. Louis) and Mercy Springfield in Missouri.  

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that can lead to harm or even death. The grading system is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring. To see Mercy's full grade details, along with our competitors', and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

About Mercy
Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2025 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

About Leapfrog
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, 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.

SOURCE Mercy