Salinas, Calif. — April 13, 2016 — Natividad Medical Center (NMC) has received a safety grade of “A” for the third time in a row from The Leapfrog Group, one of the country’s leading organizations in measuring and publicly reporting hospital performance. The top grade reveals NMC’s commitment to improve patient safety, prevent medical errors, and minimize injuries, accidents and infections.

The Hospital Safety Grade is a twice-annual assessment of more than 2,600 hospitals across the nation. The Grade includes 30 evidence-based patient safety measures of publicly available hospital data, including how often a hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition or procedure, and what happens to a patient while receiving care. NMC is one of 823 hospitals in the U.S. and one of 68 hospitals in California to receive an “A,” which ranks it among the safest hospitals in the nation.

“We are proud and honored to receive the top A grade from The Leapfrog Group three times in a row,” said NMC CEO Dr. Gary Gray. “The recognition shows our collective commitment to making safety a priority at our hospital, and to our high standards of care and high patient satisfaction.”

NMC also received a safety grade of “A” in April and October of 2016, as well as a Top Hospital award from The Leapfrog Group in December 2016. For more information on NMC’s Hospital Safety Grade, please visit: http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/h/natividad-medical-center

NMC has received many recent recognitions for high quality health care services, including the top ranking for the Acute Rehab Center from Kindred Healthcare, Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, Smart Care California State Honor Roll, BETA Healthcare Group Award of Excellence, and designation as a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care and Bariatric Surgery excellence by Anthem Blue Cross.

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 forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. 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 Natividad Medical Center (NMC)
Owned and operated by Monterey County, NMC is a 172-bed, acute-care hospital providing health care services to county residents for more than 132 years. Based in Salinas, California, NMC offers inpatient, outpatient, emergency, diagnostic and specialty medical care. NMC provides more than 38,000 patient days of care each year and has more than 52,000 emergency department visits per year. NMC is a Level II Trauma Center providing the immediate availability of specialized personnel, equipment and services to treat the most severe and critical injuries. NMC’s Trauma Center is a vital community service locally that saves lives and eliminates the need to fly critically injured patients to a distant trauma center. NMC is ranked No. 1 in newborn deliveries in Monterey County and is the only teaching hospital on the Central Coast through its affiliation with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). With a medical staff of more than 330 physicians, NMC’s mission is to continually monitor and improve the health of the people, including the vulnerable, in Monterey County through coordinated, affordable high-quality health care. For more information, please call 831-755-4111 or visit www.natividad.com.