CHICAGO, IL (May 3, 2016) – Swedish Covenant Hospital was one of only six hospitals in the Chicago area to receive an A grade for patient safety in a study conducted by Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit that monitors safety and quality in American acute care hospitals.

The Hospital Safety Score report is based on hospitals’ track records of preventing avoidable deaths due to causes such as infections and miscommunication over medications. Scores are assigned by patient safety experts based on data mostly from 2015 and 2014 compiled from Medicare, the American Hospital Association, and from hospitals themselves.

Swedish Covenant sees more than 280,000 patients a year. Chief executive officer Mark Newton told local newspaper Crain’s Chicago Business that the hospital seeks to be hyperaware of infections, patients’ electronic records, and other problems that could put patients at risk, fostering a dedication to patient safety that is adopted throughout the system’s management, physicians, and staff.

“You don’t build that kind of record unless you put systems in place and processes in place which provide the patient the highest safety outcomes,” Newton said. “There is this sense of safety, which is truly the only way to get that kind of repetitive and predictable outcome.”

Of the 22 hospitals judged, only two received Bs and the other 14 received a C or below. Ratings are released twice a year, and Swedish has received an A each year since the reports were first issued in 2013.

Swedish Covenant Hospital is operated by Covenant Ministries of Benevolence on behalf of the Evangelical Covenant Church.