The Leapfrog Group released its fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grades Nov. 8, assigning "A" through "F" letter grades to more than 2,600 acute care hospitals for patient safety performance.
Here are six things to know:
1. Leapfrog releases the safety grades every fall and spring. The ratings are based on more than two dozen quality measures compiled by the Leapfrog Group, CMS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the CDC, and the American Hospital Association. Areas of measurement include nurse communication, hand hygiene adherence and surgical site infection rates, among others.
2. Of the more than 2,600 hospitals graded, 32 percent earned an "A" grade, 24 percent earned a "B," 37 percent earned a "C," 6 percent earned a "D," and 1 percent earned an "F."
3. Washington, D.C., Delaware and North Dakota had no hospitals with "A" grades this fall. The five states with the highest percentage of "A" hospitals were New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, Massachusetts and Texas.
4. Hospitals in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Carolina received "F" grades.
5. Thirty-three percent of hospitals in traditionally Democratic states and 32 percent of hospitals in traditionally Republican states earned "A" grades.
6. Forty-two hospitals nationwide have earned an "A" rating in every scoring update since the ranking system's inception in spring 2012.
To view the state rankings for Leapfrog's fall 2018 update, click here.
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