The hospitals of McLeod Health (McLeod Health Cheraw, McLeod Health Clarendon, McLeod Health Dillon, McLeod Health Loris, McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Regional Medical Center) have received 2024 Zero Harm Awards from the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) for a commitment to eliminating medical errors and creating a culture of high reliability throughout its facilities by implementing robust, evidence-based practices that are making a positive impact on patients and the safety and quality of care. By pursuing a standard of Zero Harm, these hospitals continue to put patient safety first in a mission to provide world-class care to the patients and communities it serves.

SCHA’s Zero Harm Awards were started in 2014 as an effort to recognize South Carolina hospitals that were on the forefront of preventing medical errors, which by some estimates is the third leading cause of death in the United States. The Certified Zero Harm Awards began with a core idea — that zero harm as a goal was possible in a highly reliable system — and began rewarding hospitals who went extended stretches free of hospital-acquired infections in common categories and procedures. This statewide effort was also unique, thanks to SCHA’s collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH), which independently verified the awards. 

“This early success — expressed in lives saved and the resulting economic impact — strengthens our resolve to focus on safety, raise the bar of expectations, and challenge our hospitals to pursue zero harm,” said SCHA President and CEO Thornton Kirby. “We’re in the business, after all, of saving lives. And that’s what the Zero Harm Awards are all about.”

Zero Harm awards received by McLeod Health Hospitals include:

McLeod Health Cheraw – Hospital Onset C. diff; Hospital Onset MRSA; Surgical Site Infection for Hip Replacement; CLABSI: Hospital Wide

McLeod Health Clarendon – Hospital Onset C. diff; Surgical Site Infection for Abdominal Hysterectomy, Colon Surgery, Knee Replacement and Hip Replacement; CLABSI: Hospital Wide

McLeod Health Dillon – Surgical Site Infection for Knee Replacement and Hip Replacement; Hospital Onset C. diff; Hospital Onset MRSA; Pressure Injury; CLABSI: Hospital Wide

McLeod Health Loris – Hospital Onset MRSA; Hospital Onset C. diff; Surgical Site Infection for Abdominal Hysterectomy; Pressure Injury

McLeod Health Seacoast – Surgical Site Infection for Abdominal Hysterectomy and Knee Replacement; Pressure Injury

McLeod Regional Medical Center – Surgical Site Infection for Abdominal Hysterectomy