The news was good this week for UP Health System’s hospitals in Marquette and Hancock.

The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade was out and both institutions fared well.

According to a press release from UP Health System, both hospitals received an “A” grade for efforts in protecting patients from harm. The Leapfrog Group, a national inspecting and grading organization, assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harm among patients in their care.

Both institutions have struggled with previous Leapfrog grades, several of which were less than average.

“We are very pleased with this high mark for our hospitals,” said Brian Sinotte, market president for UP Health System. “This places us among the top tier of hospitals across the country when it comes to patient safety.”

We didn’t hesitate to criticize UP Health System for its previous shaky grades, and we won’t hesitate to offer our congratulations now that the marks are improved substantially. This is good news not only for the owners of the facilities but its employees and, of course, the patients served there.