In the overlapping fields of healthcare and patient safety, consistent evaluations and ratings provide an invaluable barometer of how effectively hospitals are managing their primary responsibility – safe-guarding patients from harm. A notable source of these critical evaluations is The Leapfrog Group’s biannual Hospital Safety Guide.
In the Spring 2025 edition of this guide, AdventHealth Redmond, Atrium Health Floyd, AdventHealth Gordon, and Piedmont Cartersville in Georgia found themselves contending with lower-than-anticipated scores. It’s worth noting, however, that despite the disappointing results, certain attributes exhibited by these hospitals were also commended.
For instance, AdventHealth Redmond, despite going from ‘A’ ratings down to a ‘B’ rating, continued to excel in terms of surgical safety and error prevention parameters. The areas it grappled with primarily consisted of infection prevention and patient falls with their communication and patient care units earning an average rating.
Atrium Health Floyd remained steady with a ‘C’ rating, mirroring its Fall 2024 performance. This result, whilst far from ideal, acknowledged the virtues of the hospital’s care team’s communication and responsiveness.
Conversely, the downsides associated with the hospital revolved around less than desired outcomes in infection control, fall prevention, and surgical outcomes. Among others, AdventHealth Gordon and Piedmont Cartersville were categorized under the ‘B’ rating, while Atrium Floyd and Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton both received a ‘C’. Meanwhile, Atrium Health Polk was exempted on account of its smaller size.
Statewide, only 19 out of 79 Georgia hospitals managed to achieve an ‘A’ rating. An alarming observation putting this into perspective is that Georgia’s overall ranking has dropped precipitously from being the 15th nationwide in 2019 down to 35th in the current year. With preventable errors still posing a significant issue, Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch, stressed on the absolute necessity for hospitals to make patient safety their utmost priority, every single time. For a detailed overview of individual hospital scores and additional information, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.