In a recent biannual release, the Leapfrog Group unveiled its Spring 2025 Hospital Safety Grades. This report assigns grades to each of the states based on the safety data of their hospitals. Dominating the list with the most ‘A’ grades are six states – Utah, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Virginia. Notably, Utah emerged as the leader, ranked number one for the fourth consecutive round, and tied as the state with the highest percentage of Straight-A hospitals.
An extraordinary upturn was marked by Washington, DC, which ranked 11th in terms of the percentage of ‘A’ hospitals, a significant rise after perpetually finding itself at the bottom of the ranks. Conversely, states such as Iowa, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming showed an absence of hospitals awarded an ‘A’ grade.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which draws data from nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals across the nation, is a symbolic representation of a hospital’s commitment and effectiveness to prevent medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections. Grades range from ‘A’ to ‘F’, and the evaluation encompasses up to 30 national performance measures taken from CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), Leapfrog’s Hospital Survey, and other supplementary data sources.
The Safety Grade is a distinctive rating system solely concentrating on preventing medical errors and patient harm. This grade encapsulates a hospital’s overall performance in preventing avoidable harm and mistakes. Updated biannually, these grades are determined through a public, peer-reviewed methodology. A national expert panel along with top patient safety experts carry out the necessary calculations.
Throughout the grading history, certain hospitals have stood out, showing remarkable consistency. The ‘Straight A’ league includes 11 hospitals, which managed to secure an ‘A’ in all 27 grading rounds over 13 years. Establishments achieving this feat include Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital in Illinois, French Hospital Medical Center in California, Inova Loudoun Hospital in Virginia, along with others in different states.
In a statement, Leah Binder, President, and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, emphasized that hospitals must not be complacent in achieving an ‘A’ and should consistently strive towards improving patient safety. The report pointed out that a continuous ‘A’ grade reflects the unwavering commitment of a hospital towards patient safety.
Medical errors in hospitals account for over 250,000 deaths per year. The report underscored the gravity of the issue, revealing that 27% of hospitalized Medicare patients experienced some form of harm. The most common harm was linked to medication, representing 43% of cases, followed by patient care, procedures and surgeries, and lastly, infections.