Marion, SC, (December 17, 2025) – Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, MUSC Health Marion Medical Center has been named a Top Rural Hospital by The Leapfrog Group for 2025. The honor reflects the hospital’s steadfast commitment to patient safety, clinical quality and transparency in serving Marion County and its rural communities.
The Leapfrog Top Hospital awards are among the most competitive honors hospitals in the United States can receive. Of the more than 2,400 hospitals considered, only 156 hospitals nationwide earned this designation, with rural hospitals accounting for just 16 of those honorees, alongside 73 teaching hospitals, 52 general hospitals and 15 children’s hospitals across the entire country.
“This award is a testament to the ongoing dedication and hard work of our entire team at MUSC Health Marion Medical Center,” said Jay Hinesley, CEO of MUSC Health-Pee Dee Division. “We are proud to be recognized for providing exceptional care close to home for our rural communities.”
Forty-six measures from the 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey are used to determine what constitutes a Top Hospital. These hospitals are assessed based on measures relevant to the services they provide.
“Achieving this milestone for the first time reflects our unwavering focus on patient safety and quality. We are honored to serve our community with excellence every day,” said Shametra Swaringer, executive director of MUSC Health Marion Medical Center.
The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit watchdog organization that rates hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers on how well they protect patients from preventable harm, including accidents, injuries and infections. The Leapfrog Top Hospital awards are given to teaching, general, rural and children's hospitals that publicly report their performance data through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and meet the high standards defined in its Top Hospitals methodology. This includes infection rates, maternity care and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors, among other standards.
“MUSC Health Marion Medical Center has distinguished itself through an unwavering focus on safety and quality, earning a place on this year’s list of Top Hospitals,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This recognition reflects a culture of transparency and continuous improvement – one embraced by every member of the organization. We commend the entire team at MUSC Health Marion Medical Center for reaching this outstanding milestone."
To see the complete list of institutions honored as 2025 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.
About The Leapfrog GroupFounded in 2000, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization committed to driving giant leaps in patient safety. Its initiatives include the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, which assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of preventing medical errors and harm to patients. Learn more at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
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About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates nearly 3,500 students in six colleges and trains approximately 1,050 residents and fellows across its health system. MUSC leads the state in federal, National Institutes of Health and other research funding. For information on our academic programs, visit musc.edu.
As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. In 2025, for the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.
MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $8.9 billion. The nearly 35,000 MUSC members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research and patient care.
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