Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville & Harlingen Receive an “A” for Patient Safety in Fall 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville & Harlingen earned a grade “A” in a recent national safety study conducted by Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit healthcare ratings organization.

Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville and Harlingen were among 750 hospitals nationally recognized as an ‘A’ for efforts in protecting patients and meeting high safety standards. Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are updated every spring and fall following assessments of publicly available data for more than 2,500 hospitals across the country.  Leapfrog is considered the gold standard for measuring patient care and safety. 

“It is a tremendous accomplishment to receive two grade “A’s” and a true testament of our team’s dedication to provide our patients the care they deserve in a safe environment,” said Manny Vela, CEO for Valley Baptist Health System.  “This achievement takes great collaboration from each team member to ensure every element of care is held to the highest of standards.  We are incredibly proud of their commitment to safe patient care.”

As part of the national safety study, Leapfrog Group scores hospitals on how safe patients are kept from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.  Scores are graded on a scale from A – F, based on 27 process and outcome measures of hospital data.

“We are proud to see a grade “A” for both Brownsville and Harlingen,” said Leslie Bingham, CEO of Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville. “Our team is passionate about the care they provide our patients and ensuring it is provided with the highest and safest standards of quality.  This is an incredible accomplishment for our network to be a part of this prestigious list and we applaud the work that each team member contributes to making it a safe environment.”  

The recent Leapfrog “A” grades awarded to Valley Baptist-Brownsville and Valley Baptist-Harlingen are just the latest demonstration of Valley Baptist Health System’s commitment to providing quality healthcare for residents of the entire Rio Grande Valley.

In just 2018 alone, Valley Baptist-Harlingen was recognized as a high-performing hospital by U.S. News & World Report, in addition to its designation as a Level II Trauma Center (the only one in the Rio Grande Valley). Valley Baptist-Brownsville was recently certified as a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the first in Cameron County and followed shortly by Valley Baptist-Harlingen.    Valley Baptist-Brownsville is the only hospital in Brownsville to earn the Texas Ten Step Program facility designation from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and also received Gold-Level designation as a Mother-Friendly Worksite by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).  

Valley Baptist-Harlingen was also named to the Tenet Circle of Excellence in recognition of its clinical and operational performance in 2018.

In addition to the accolades received in 2018, Valley Baptist Health System has also taken steps to provide additional locations for the community to gain access to award-winning care. In early November, two Valley Baptist Emergency Centers (formerly Neighbors Emergency Centers) opened their doors to receive patients. The Brownsville Emergency Center is located near the intersection of Ruben M. Torres Boulevard and Paredes Line Road, while the Harlingen Emergency Center is located across the street from the main hospital on North Ed Carey Drive.

Valley Baptist Health System also broke ground on a new micro-hospital location in Weslaco to better serve residents of Hidalgo County and the Mid-Valley. The micro-hospital, which is located on Expressway 83 in Weslaco and will include both an emergency department and an inpatient unit, as laboratory, pharmacy, imaging, and respiratory services, is scheduled to open in Fall 2019.

To see full grade rating for Valley Baptist Health System, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.