Newswise — SEATTLE – (April 29, 2014) – Virginia Mason is again rated as one of the safest hospitals in the U.S by The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to drive improvements in safety, quality and affordability.

Leapfrog announced today Virginia Mason has received an “A” for patient safety in its Hospital Safety Score program. This marks the fourth consecutive time Virginia Mason has received the top grade since the program was launched in 2012. The safety grades are updated by Leapfrog twice a year.

“Maintaining our ‘A’ grade in the Hospital Safety Score Program requires uninterrupted dedication to patient safety from every one of our team members,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD.

“Our passion for making medical care safer has been recognized often by outside organizations that evaluate our industry," he added. "I am proud of this latest recognition by The Leapfrog Group because it is another affirmation that we are focused on the right work and truly making a difference for our patients.”

Hospitals receive grades based on preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

About Virginia Mason Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Virginia Mason employs more than 5,600 people and includes a 336-bed acute-care hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 460 physicians; satellite locations throughout the Puget Sound area; and Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason is internationally recognized for its breakthrough autoimmune disease research. Virginia Mason was the first health system to apply lean manufacturing principles to health care delivery to eliminate waste and improve quality and patient safety.

Media Contact: Gale RobinetteVirginia Mason Media Relations (206) 341-1509[email protected]

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