Leapfrog Group announced Dec. 6 that Pen Bay Medical Center has been named a Top Hospital for the third time. The recognition showcases Pen Bay Medical Center's commitment to patient safety and quality.

"To be selected as a top hospital is truly an honor,” said said Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital President and CEO Mark Biscone, in a news release. “I am proud of the entire Pen Bay Medical Center team for their excellent work and am pleased that our commitment to provide safe patient care has been nationally recognized.”

Pen Bay Medical Center received a Top Rural Hospital distinction, and was one of 115 Top Hospitals recognized across the country. The list includes:

9 Top Children's Hospitals
56 Top General Hospitals
21 Top Rural Hospitals
29 Top Teaching Hospitals

The selection of Top Hospitals is based on the results of the 2016 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, maternity care, and a hospital's ability to prevent medication errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year's Top Hospital Methodology.

"Being acknowledged as a Top Hospital is an incredible feat achieved by less than three percent of hospitals nationwide," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "With this honor, Pen Bay Medical Center has established its commitment to safer and higher quality care. Providing this level of care to patients in Midcoast Maine requires motivation and drive from every team member. I congratulate the board, staff and clinicians, whose efforts made this honor possible."

To see the full list of institutions honored as 2016 Top Hospitals, visit leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, the Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

Pen Bay Medical Center is a not-for-profit, Leapfrog Straight A Safety Score Graded Hospital and the largest community hospital in Midcoast Maine. Pen Bay Medical Center operates as a family of services that also includes Pen Bay Physicians & Associates, Quarry Hill Retirement Community and the Knox Center. Through these organizations, and with a staff of more than 100 outstanding physicians and more than 1,500 healthcare professionals, we are able to provide the people of Midcoast Maine with a continuum of both routine and specialty patient-centered medical services. Pen Bay Medical Center is a member of the MaineHealth system. For more information, visit penbayhealthcare.org.