What to Know
- NY and CT hospitals rank among the worst in the nation (No. 43 and No. 40 for safety, respectively), report says; NJ hospitals came in 6th
- The rankings are based on the percentage of hospitals in each state that earned an 'A' safety grade in Leapfrog's latest study
- Leapfrog looked at approximately 2,500 hospitals across 50 states for the spring study
Once again New York and Connecticut rank among the states with the overall worst hospitals in the country when it comes to safety, while the Garden State can boast as being in the top 10 states with the best hospitals —although the state was knocked out of the top spot this time-around, according to a report released Thursday.
The non-profit group Leapfrog published its biannual report, which analyzes 2,600 hospitals across the 50 states on an “A” through “F” grading scale.
Hospitals across the country show a lot of variation when it comes to patient safety. With this in mind, and in order to compile the comprehensive Spring 2019 list, Leapfrog looked into just how safe hospitals keep their patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.
According to the spring 2019 report, of more than 2,600 hospitals graded, 32 percent earned an “A,” 26 percent earned a “B,” 36 percent earned a “C,” 6 percent a “D” and just under 1 percent received an “F” grade.
Leapfrog reports that researchers who assessed the thousands of hospitals receiving Hospital Safety Grades, found that when compared to “A” hospitals patients at “D” and “F” hospitals face a 92 percent greater risk of avoidable death, while patients at “C” hospitals on average face an 88% greater risk of avoidable death. Additionally, patients at “B” hospitals on average face a 35% greater risk of avoidable death, according to the report.
However, the report states, even “A” hospitals are not perfectly safe, but researchers found they are getting safer. In fact, the report says, if all hospitals had an avoidable death rate equivalent to “A” hospitals, 50,000 lives would have been saved, versus 33,000 lives that would have been saved by “A” level performance in 2016.
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NEW YORK
Though New York found itself in low-end of the list at No. 43 thanks to just having 7.53 percent of its hospitals obtain an “A” grade, it fared better than in fall 2018 when the state placed at No. 46 with 8.28 percent of its hospitals receiving an “A” grade.
This time around, in New York, 11 hospitals received “A” grades: Catholic Health System - Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Catholic Health System - Mount St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Health System -Sisters Hospital - St. Joseph Campus, HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley - Mary's Ave. Campus, Mather Hospital, NYU Langone Hospitals, Olean General Hospital, St. Charles Hospital, St. Francis Hospital — The Heart Center, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center and White Plains Hospital.
Leapfrog determined that 23 hospitals in New York were “B” hospitals. Meanwhile, 82 New York area hospitals received a “C” grade, 28 received a “D” grade and two received a failing grade.
NEW JERSEY
Across the Hudson River, there are a whopping 31 “A” grade hospitals in New Jersey or 45.59 percent: Bayshore Medical Center, Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center, Chilton Medical Center, Clara Maass Medical Center, Community Medical Center of Toms River, Inspira Medical Center Elmer, Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, Jefferson Stratford Hospital, Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Morristown Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newton Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center of Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Saint Clare's Hospital of Denville, Saint Clare's Hospital of Dover, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Saint Peter's University Hospital, Shore Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center, St. Luke's Warren Campus and The Valley Hospital.
According to Leapfrog’s list, 27 “B” grade hospitals in New Jersey, seven “C” grade hospitals and three “D” grade hospitals.
Although, New Jersey’s impressive grades garnered it the sixth spot as one of the states with the best hospitals, the ranking is lower than the top spot the state garnered in last year's fall list, when 56.72 percent of its hospitals received an “A” grade.
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CONNECTICUT
Meanwhile, four Connecticut hospitals received an “A” grade: Bristol Hospital, Sharon Hospital, St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center and Windham Community Memorial Hospital.
According to Leapfrog, seven obtained a “B” grade and 14 received a “C” grade.
Overall, Connecticut climbed seven spots to No. 40 after 16 percent of its hospitals obtained an “A” grade compared to the previous Leapfrog list.
