UCI Health — Orange secures an 'A' safety grade
2025 honor marks 20th time the hospital has received Leapfrog’s highest grade
Orange, Calif. — UCI Health — Orange, formerly known as UCI Medical Center, has received an 'A' grade in the fall 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.
The designation is the 20th ‘A’ UCI Health has achieved since 2014, affirming its steadfast commitment to the high-quality care and safety of all patients. Only the top 30% of hospitals in the nation receive Leapfrog’s highest hospital safety recognition.
“Leapfrog’s continuous recognition of UCI Health highlights our role as a leader in patient safety in Orange County and beyond,” said Dr. Joseph C. Carmichael, chief medical officer and senior vice president at UCI Health.
“UCI Health is honored to be ranked among the nation’s safest hospitals to receive care.”
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization with a 12-year history of assigning 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' 'D' or 'F' grades to general hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. The biannual Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.
Quality, safety track record
UCI Health — Orange has been consistently recognized as a national leader in patient safety and high-quality care.
- It was most recently recognized for excellence with Leapfrog 'A' grade in the spring 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.
- It is one of the fewer than 10% of hospitals in the world to have achieved Magnet Recognition® for nursing excellence five times.
- The California Department of Public Health recognized the hospital with its Gold Antimicrobial Stewardship Honor Roll, the highest possible recognition from the department’s Healthcare-Associated Infections Program.
- Vizient® recognized it in its 2025 Ambulatory Quality and Accountability Ranking and it is one of just five health systems in the nation to be recognized for demonstrating excellence in delivering high-quality outpatient care.
Specialty-specific accolades
Numerous specialties at UCI Health have also received accolades for exceptional achievements in quality and safety. They include:
- Newsweek Best Maternity Care Hospital since 2020, the ranking’s inaugural year
- Advanced Heart Failure Program, The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval, 2024
- Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll, 2025
- Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Optimal with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll, 2025
- Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Plus and Target Heart Failure Optimal Award, 2025
Several nursing units at UCI Health — Orange also have Beacon Awards from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for exceptional care and excellent outcomes. They include:
- Neurosciences step down unit
- Burn ICU
- Cardiovascular ICU
- Cardiovascular surgery
- Medical ICU
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).