Vidant Beaufort Hospital received another ‘A’ rating in The Leapfrog Group’s spring 2017 report.

The hospital scored well in most categories in which data was reported, drawing numbers from two time periods: July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2015, in some instances; and April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, in others, based on available data.

The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit that strives to improve health care across the United States, and it uses 30 different measures to score hospitals to represent their performance in keeping patients safe and avoiding medical errors, according to Leapfrog’s website (www.hospitalsafetygrade.org).

Surrounding hospitals, including Vidant Medical Center in Greenville and CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, also received ‘A’ ratings.

The spring 2017 results are similar to those released in November of last year.

Vidant Beaufort received high marks in avoiding complications after surgery, such as breathing problems, accidental tears and blood clots. It also scored high in its efforts to increase communication between medical personnel and patients.

“Continuous improvement is our goal each day we come to work,” stated Harvey Case, president of Vidant Beaufort Hospital. “It is our privilege to care for our friends, family and neighbors, and it is our goal to provide exceptional care to them. This is what drives our voyage of excellence. I am proud of our employees for what they do every day to provide great care for our patients.”

Two areas of low scoring, however, were related to preventing infection from Clostridium difficile (C. diff bacterium), as well as the availability of doctors trained specifically to treat ICU patients. Vidant Beaufort was one of the lowest scoring hospitals regarding ICU doctors, but its C. diff score was only slightly higher than the overall average.

According to Leapfrog, hospitals receive higher scores regarding C. diff infection if they separate those patients from others and require any visitors to wear protective gear.

To remedy the need for ICU doctors, Vidant Beaufort often draws on the resources at Vidant Medical Center and has the option to refer patients in need of a higher level of care, Pam Shadle, manager of marketing and public relations, said in a previous interview.

“All of our employees contribute to our culture of safety. Each day we focus on doing what is the best thing and the right thing for our patients,” Director of Quality Amy Alligood said.