A comparison of data from CMS and The Leapfrog Group suggests that a hospital's strong performance in one national quality rating system does not necessarily mean it will be a top performer in another.
Leapfrog updated its fall safety grades Nov. 15, recognizing 12 hospitals that have received an "A" grade in every consecutive update since 2012. Of these hospitals, only six received a five-star rating from CMS. Similar discrepancies are seen across Leapfrog's "F" hospitals. While nine did receive one star — the lowest possible rating — three received two stars, and one hospital earned three stars.
Leapfrog assigned letter grades to nearly 3,000 acute care hospitals based on 22 patient safety measures from CMS including accidents, healthcare-acquired infections and preventable errors. Leapfrog also collects information from hospitals that complete voluntary hospital surveys and other sources. Data reporting periods range from July 2020 to June 2023, depending on the measure.
CMS updated its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings in July, assigning a star rating to more than 4,500 hospitals based on 46 hospital quality measures. These are divided into five quality categories: safety of care, mortality, patient experience, readmission rates and timely and effective care. Data reporting periods range from July 2019 to March 2023, depending on the measure.
The CMS star ratings for Leapfrog's fall 2024 straight-"A" hospitals:
Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle (Columbus, Miss.) — Three stars
Saint Anne's Hospital (Fall River, Mass.) — Three stars
University of Chicago Medical Center — Three stars
Elmhurst (Ill.) Memorial Hospital — Four stars
Kaiser Permanente Orange County-Anaheim (Calif.) Medical Center* — Four stars
Sentara Leigh Hospital (Norfolk, Va.) — Four stars
French Hospital Medical Center (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) — Five stars
Inova Loudoun Hospital (Leesburg, Va.) — Five stars
Mayo Clinic Hospital (Phoenix) — Five stars
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (Winfield, Ill.) — Five stars
Sentara CarePlex Hospital (Hampton, Va.) — Five stars
Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle) — Five stars
The CMS star ratings for Leapfrog's fall 2024 "F" hospitals:
Berkeley Medical Center (Martinsburg, W.Va.) — One star
DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital — One star
DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital (Detroit) — One star
Good Samaritan Medical Center (West Palm Beach, Fla.) — One star
Howard University Hospital (Washington, D.C.) — One star
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (Sun Valley, Calif.) — One star
Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Medical Center — One star
Regional West Medical Center (Scottsbluff, Neb.) — One star
Rivers Health (Point Pleasant, W.Va.) — One star
Delray Medical Center (Delray Beach, Fla.) — Two stars
HSHS St. Mary's Hospital (Decatur, Ill.) — Two stars
SSM Health DePaul Hospital-St. Louis (Bridgeton, Mo.) — Two stars
Hutchinson (Kan.) Regional Medical Center — Three stars
*This hospital's star rating only includes data reported on inpatient services.
Editor's note: This article was updated Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. CT.