Hospital safety grades have been released for Pennsylvania Hospitals. The grades are handed out by The Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Group is a national non-profit organization that collects and reports hospital performance data. The organization’s mission is to improve safety, quality, and affordability of health care in the U.S.
The Leapfrog grading system rates hospitals based on incidence of infections, problems with surgeries, incidence of falls, incidence of bed sores, quality of medical staff, among other safety issues.
Pennsylvania was ranked the 6th safest state overall, which is a significant improvement just since Spring 2019, when Pennsylvania was ranked 18th.
Many hospitals in the Philadelphia region received “A” grades, including Abington Memorial Hospital, Doylestown Hospital, Holy Redeemer Hospital, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and St. Mary Medical Center, among others. Likewise, several hospitals in the Lehigh Valley received “A” grades, including multiple St. Luke’s and Lehigh Valley Hospital campuses.
Local hospitals receiving “B” grades, include Jefferson Bucks, Jefferson Frankford, Jefferson Torresdale, Temple University Hospital, and Lower Bucks Hospital.
Local hospitals receiving “C” grades include Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, Easton Hospital, Grand View Hospital, Lankenau Medical Center, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Hospitals receiving “D” grades include Nazareth Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital, and St. Luke’s Gnaden Huetten Campus.
The Leapfrog grades are issued twice per year. Choosing a hospital is an important decision and data, like the data compiled and reported by Leapfrog, can help you make an informed decision.
Unfortunately, safety issues and medical malpractice at hospitals does occur. In fact, medical error is still the third leading cause of death in the United States behind only heart disease and cancer.