Walter Reed Earns Fifth Straight A Grade for Hospital Safety

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center received an A hospital safety grade from the Leapfrog Group for spring 2026, the fifth consecutive six-month cycle it has earned the top score, the Defense Department announced on June 1.

The grade applies to Walter Reed and a group of other military treatment facilities evaluated under the same Leapfrog standards used for civilian hospitals nationwide. Leapfrog assigns letter grades based on error rates, infection control, surgical safety, and staff practices; an A places a hospital in the top performance category tracked by the nonprofit.

The spring 2026 grade marks no change in Walter Reed’s prior status. The medical center has held an A rating since the fall 2023 cycle. The new report locks in that standing for the next six months, with the subsequent evaluation scheduled for fall 2026.

The repeated A grades require the Defense Department to maintain current levels of public transparency on safety metrics at Walter Reed and peer facilities. Congress and military health leadership must continue to reference these independent scores when allocating resources or adjusting policy for the military health system, which serves more than 9.6 million beneficiaries.

The ratings also feed into broader federal hospital quality databases that influence reimbursement formulas and oversight reviews.

This marks the tenth consecutive Leapfrog grading cycle in which at least one major military hospital has earned an A, according to the pattern established since the Defense Department began participating in the program. The spring 2026 release follows the fall 2025 cycle, which likewise awarded Walter Reed an A.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Defense