Medical Center earns straight A’s in 2025 from Leapfrog for patient safety
DOTHAN, Ala – Southeast Health Medical Center has earned an “A” for the second consecutive grading period in 2025 by Leapfrog, one of the nation’s leading independent organizations that measures patient safety.
Leapfrog releases its prestigious hospital safety grades biannually in the fall and spring each year. This distinction places the Medical Center as one of the highest graded hospitals nationally for protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.
“We are continually committed to ensuring our patients receive the safest care possible.” said Rick Sutton, chief executive officer of Southeast Health. “I’m proud of our team for earning this elite designation for the second time in 2025. Maintaining an “A” during two consecutive reporting periods demonstrates our attention to consistently providing a high standard of care for our patients.”
Sutton said achieving this level of quality and safety only comes when our team members buy into creating a culture of safety and give their best to meet rigorous standards.
“Earning an ‘A’ Grade means Southeast Health Medical Center made a true commitment to put patient safety first,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers that all had a role to play in this achievement.”
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals nationwide based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
To see Southeast Health Medical Center’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter, Facebook, and via its newsletter.
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 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.
About Southeast Health
Southeast Health, which includes the region’s largest not-for-profit hospital, is a community-based academic health system dedicated to improving health and wellness for residents of southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Southeast Health system includes the Medical Center, Medical Group, Foundation, Statera Network, and the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM). The Medical Center is a 420 bed regional referral center serving more than 460,000 residents. It is one of four certified Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Alabama, and is recognized as a Level II Trauma Center and Chest Pain Center. In addition, Southeast Health has the regions only Level III NICU.
