Connecticut Hospitals Earn A Grade for Safety

The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization focused on health care safety and quality, has released its annual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which show that seven Connecticut hospitals earned an “A” grade.

The survey assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S.  The Safety Grade is focused on how well hospitals protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries, and infections.

In Connecticut, earning an A grade were Charlotte Hungerford Hospital (Torrington), Griffin Hospital (Derby), Middlesex Hospital (Middletown), MidState Medical Center (Meriden), St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center (Hartford), Stamford Health, and William Backus Hospital (Norwich). 

Earning a B grade were Bristol Hospital, Hartford Hospital, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, UConn Health, and Windham Community Hospital.  The ten other hospitals in Connecticut received a grade of C. 

“We see in the news every day the extraordinary courage of clinicians and staff caring for patients stricken by COVID-19. What’s less apparent—yet equally laudable—are the untold efforts behind the scenes to protect patients. Hospitals’ commitment to the fundamentals have saved lives too, like preventing infection, ensuring universal hand hygiene, and double and triple checking everything to avoid errors,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We are grateful for the heroic efforts of hospitals across the Nation and applaud their efforts that are protecting our families.”

The ratings consider five overall categories:  Infections, Problems with Surgery, Practices to Prevent Errors, Safety Problems and Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff.  Each category includes approximately a half dozen specific areas, which are rated from below average to above averge.  Connecticut hostpial ratings can be seen here.

Across all states, highlights of findings from the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade include:

·         34% of hospitals were graded “A’s,” 24% were “B’s,” 35% were “C’s,” 7% were “D’s,” and less than 1% were “F’s”

·         Five states with the highest percentages of “A” hospitals are Maine, Idaho, Delaware, Massachusetts and Oregon

·         There were no “A” hospitals in Alaska, South Dakota and North Dakota

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is reviewed by a National Expert Panel and receives guidance from Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. The biannual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is independently assessed, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. It shares critical patient safety information to consumers, so that they can make informed decisions about where they seek care.

Data used to calculate Hospital Safety Grades include up to 27 measures, gathered primarily from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). While the data does not yet include findings collected during the height of COVID-19, the data offers an indication of how well hospitals implemented fundamental safety precautions prior to the pandemic, an important factor in preparedness.