Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare System plans to drop its lawsuit against the Leapfrog Group, according to Fox affiliate WFTX-TV.
The Leapfrog Group released its 2019 Hospital Safety Grades Nov. 7, assigning "A" through "F" letter grades for patient safety performance to hospitals voluntarily participating in the survey. Both NCH North Naples and Naples-based NCH Baker Hospital received a "D" grade.
NCH Healthcare filed a lawsuit in the fall of 2019 against Leapfrog over the grades. The healthcare system said it didn't participate in the Leapfrog Group survey in the last year and consequently received a low grade. NCH said the grades were "false and misleading," according to court documents cited by WINK News.
"We are happy to put the past behind us with the dismissal of this lawsuit and focus on improving the patient experience," said NCH President and CEO Paul Hiltz. "Quality patient care has always been, and always will be our first and foremost priority."
The NCH hospitals "recently showed improvement in safety," Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, told Becker's in an emailed statement, adding that Leapfrog looks forward to the system's future progress and wishes "the very best of health to NCH and the Naples community."