All nine eligible Mayo Clinic hospitals earned A grades from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization that provides safety ratings. The ratings are intended to help patients choose their preferred healthcare destinations.

"While quality rankings only tell one part of our story and we are always working to improve, we are extremely proud that all nine eligible Mayo Clinic hospitals earned the highest marks from the Leapfrog Group, earning A grades for patient safety," says Dr. Sean Dowdy, Mayo Clinic's chief value officer. "Regardless of the quality measure used, Mayo Clinic continues to be top ranked across a variety of rating agencies. This success is thanks to the incredible work of our truly Category-of-One staff."

The nine Mayo hospitals earning A grades are:

• Mayo Clinic in Arizona

• Mayo Clinic in Florida

• Mayo Clinic in Rochester

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, Minnesota

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont, Minnesota

• Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minnesota

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing, Minnesota

The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Safety Score is updated and published twice each year. The score is based on 15 measures of publicly available hospital safety data and 12 self-reported survey answers, which are combined to produce a single safety score. A panel of patient safety experts developed the measures for the score.

Many agencies rate quality in healthcare. Mayo Clinic is the only healthcare organization that consistently ranks among the top providers nationwide regardless of the quality measure used.