Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Safety Report Spotlights Trend Of Urban Hospitals Performing Poorly
Modern Healthcare: Urban Hospitals Perform Poorly On Leapfrog's Latest Patient Safety Grades
The majority of urban hospitals don't perform well on patient safety measures, according to the latest Hospital Safety Grade report released Tuesday by the Leapfrog Group. Of the 11 hospitals in New York City included in the report, only one—NYC Health & Hospitals/Metropolitan—received an "A" grade from the Leapfrog Group in its spring 2018 report. Additionally, just three of Los Angeles' 12 hospitals got an "A" while only six of Chicago's 18 hospitals did. (Castellucci, 4/24)
Georgia Health News: One In 5 Ga. Hospitals Gets ‘A’ In Safety Ratings
Fifteen Georgia hospitals scored an “A’’ grade on patient safety in the latest Leapfrog Group report. The ratings, released Tuesday, showed that 21 percent of hospitals evaluated in the state got a top grade. (Miller, 4/24)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Hospitals Rise In Safety Grading System
Maryland hospitals have made strides overall in reducing errors, accidents, injuries and infections, but still have a way to go to make their facilities as safe as they can be, according to a new safety assessment by Leapfrog Group. Maryland moved out of the bottom five in Leapfrog’s biannual state rankings of the country’s safest hospitals. Ten hospitals in the state improved their grades since they were first analyzed in 2017. (McDaniels, 4/24)
News & Observer: Duke University Hospital And WakeMed Cary Dinged For Safety Lapses
Triangle hospitals have ranked among the nation's safest health care facilities year after year, but your local hospital visit may not be as safe as previously assumed. The region got hit with surprisingly weaker safety grades in a biannual scoring report issued Tuesday by the Washington-based nonprofit Leapfrog Group. Two hospitals — WakeMed Cary and Duke University Hospital — unexpectedly dropped from top A grades to C's in Leapfrog's Spring 2018 safety ranking for errors, accidents and infections. Until this round of safety rankings, Duke University's research and teaching hospital in Durham had delivered straight A's for the past three years, whereas WakeMed Cary had been awarded A's, and one B, since last getting a C in the spring of 2015. (Murawski, 4/24)
Los Angeles Times: Adventist Health Glendale Again Tops Area Hospitals In Safety Study
Adventist Health Glendale aced yet another safety-care study conducted by a national hospital-safety organization. The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., awarded its seventh straight A grade to Adventist Health Glendale, in its spring 2018 results released Tuesday. Leapfrog awards hospital safety grades twice a year based on a number of criteria that measure the quality of patient safety. (Landa, 4/24)
Clarion Ledger: UMMC Improving Patient Safety, Latest Leapfrog Scorecard Shows
University of Mississippi Medical Center says its making strides to improve hygiene and patient safety at its main campus, and the latest scorecard from a national hospital watchdog agrees. (Wolfe, 4/24)
NBC Chicago: These 37 Illinois Hospitals Are Some Of The Safest In The Country, Report Finds
Illinois is home to 37 of the safest hospitals in the nation, according to a new report from a national nonprofit healthcare ratings organization. The Leapfrog Group, founded in 2000, produces a report twice a year that lists the safest hospitals in the country by analyzing 27 different "measures" of approximately 2,500 hospitals across the United States. (4/24)
NJ.com: Which New Jersey Hospitals Are The Safest? Here Are The Results Of A New National Survey.
Fewer hospitals in New Jersey earned an "A" for patient safety in the latest national report card released Tuesday. That drove New Jersey's national rank down from 11th to 17th best for the strategies they used to prevent infections, falls and other harmful mistakes, according to the report. (Livio, 2/24)
The Sentinel: Carlisle Hospital Gets 'C' Grade From Leapfrog Group
After getting safety grade scores of “A” and one “B” in the last three years, UPMC Pinnacle Carlisle was given a “C” score in the latest release of the Leapfrog Group’s safety grades. The Leapfrog Group is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to safety and transparency in the health system, and it releases its Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade twice a year, grading hospitals across the country based on surgical issues, staffing, infections, preventing errors and other safety problems. (Creason, 4/24)
