Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Named Top Rural Hospital in California for Outstanding Quality and Safety

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. (December 5, 2023) – Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital has been named one of this year’s Top Rural Hospitals nationally by The Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive and exacting awards in the healthcare industry. More than 2,200 hospitals were considered for this year’s award. Among those, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital was one of only fifteen rural hospitals nationwide to meet the demanding criteria necessary to be named a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital, and the only rural hospital in California to receive the award. 

"We are honored by the Leapfrog Group’s recognition of our hospital as a Top Rural Hospital nationally,” said Dr. Scott Neeley, President & CEO, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. “This accolade is a testament to the dedication of our exceptional team and their commitment to providing high-quality care to patients and our community.” 

The Top Hospital designation is given by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers widely acknowledged as the toughest standard-setters for healthcare safety and quality. 

“This recognition is a testament to the importance of our work and efforts to improve the quality of care we provide the community,” said Dr. Tyler Hill, Chief Medical Officer, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. “To have such an exceptional team constantly pushing for the best and working to improve our practices is what makes Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital special.” 

The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology. 

“We are honored to recognize Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital as a Top Hospital this year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital has demonstrated that they truly put patients first. We congratulate the board, staff and clinicians whose efforts made this honor possible.” 

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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 flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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. For more, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter.

About Dignity Health 

Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org.