5-06-2024 10:44pm

Now 4 Minnesota Hospitals Have ‘D’ Grades In Patient Safety

Tom Akaolisa Editor

Safety is a key factor when choosing a healthcare provider. Hospitals across the country strive to take the best care of their patients, but unfortunately, some hospitals let their patients down, sometimes with tragic results.

According to LeapFrog Hospital Safety Grade, these tend to be hospitals with teams that don't work well together or lack good leadership that ensures patient safety is the number one priority.

When environments such as this exist within a hospital, one mistake can steamroll into patients experiencing dangerous complications, slower recovery times, and even unnecessary deaths in some instances.

That is why they rate hospitals nationwide several times each year and provide those safety grades to the public. Their hospital grades have become the gold standard for hospital safety rankings in America. They not only provide consumers with crucial information that allows them to make informed choices on where to receive care, but they also show hospitals the area(s) in which they need to improve.
The Numbers Are Startling According to the study:

*Upwards of 200,000 people die every year from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections
*Every year, 1 out of every 31 patients develops an infection while in the hospital, an infection that didn’t have to happen.
*A Medicare patient has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing injury, harm, or death when admitted to a hospital
*Today alone, more than 500 people will die because of a preventable hospital error

Because most hospital errors can be prevented, LeapFrog utilizes up to 30 national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to create their Hospital Safety Grade. Factors such as medical errors, problems with surgery, safety problems, practices in place to prevent errors, and hospital staff are taken into consideration.

Spring 2024 Minnesota Hospital Safety Grades
In the fall 2023 study, Minnesota had two hospitals earn a stunning 'D' grade for patient safety. LeapFrog recently released the results of their spring 2024 study and, unfortunately, that number has doubled.

On a positive note, Minnesota ranked #29 nationally for patient safety, up from the #32 ranking they earned in the fall. Also, the Essentia Health Clinic in Virginia no longer has the 'D' grade earned in the previous study.

In the recent spring study, Minnesota had 10 hospitals earn an 'A' grade, while another 14 hospitals earned a 'B'. This is an increase for each grade level from the previous study.