South Baldwin Regional Medical Center has been awarded its seventh "A" Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group since spring 2021.

The Leapfrog Group, which assigns letter grades to general hospitals across the nation based on measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections, is the only peer-reviewed and fully transparent hospital ratings program that focuses solely on preventable medical errors that harm patients. Grades are given twice per year through fall and spring updates, with full grade details available at www.HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

"The 'A' rating awarded to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center is a testament to the personalized care and compassion our staff and physicians have provided," South Baldwin Regional Medical Center CEO Margaret Roley said in a Wednesday, May 1, press release from the hospital. "We are honored to have our work recognized in this way, and we will continue to pursue excellence in providing high quality care with compassion for all of our patients."

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, added that everyone at South Baldwin Medical Center should be proud of this achievement, while also thanking leadership and staff for caring deeply about patients and their safety.

South Baldwin Medical Center offers inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic and surgical care in its 112-bed hospital with the help of more than 1,200 employees and other medical clinics within the network serving the Gulf Coast. Its medical staff is experienced in over 32 medical specialties, with services including a 24-hour emergency department, an extended hours urgent care and imaging center, a wound care and hyperbaric medicine center and women's imaging, among others. The hospital is one of just two Sepsis certified facilities in the state and Baldwin County's only chest, pain and stroke accredited facility.

All of that is about to grow, too.

The hospital is currently undergoing a $250 million expansion, which will increase its bed capacity to 142, that is on track to open the last quarter of this year. The new five-story building is being erected next to the current 65-year-old hospital. Once open, the facility will be able to consolidate and update services and will house a new outpatients and procedural area and will expand OB women's services, medical surge surgical beds and a new ICU. Earlier this year, Community Health Services, the operator of the hospital, received initial city government approval to build an ambulatory surgery center on a 1.5-acre plot near the hospital on North Alston Street.

Also, in conjunction with the surgery center, plans for a medial office park within a new medical overlay district are also in motion on a 14-acre parcel along Fern Avenue east of Alabama 59.