Santa Cruz Co. Hospital Receives "A" In Hospital Safety Grade: Report

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — A busy Santa Cruz hospital was listed as "above average" among all those in the nation when it comes to overall patient safety, according to a new report released this week by a nonprofit founded by employers and health care providers. The Leapfrog Group announced its spring 2017 hospital safety rankings, a measure of how safe a hospital is for patients.

The hospitals were given a letter grade from A through F based on several factors. Of the 271 California hospitals that were graded, 68 of them received an A. Six of them received an F. In between, there were 79 'B' hospitals, 93 'C' hospitals and 25 'D' hospitals.

In Santa Cruz, Dominican Hospital received an "A" overall score. In nearby, Watsonville Community Hospital and El Camino Hospital Los Gatos earned "B" rankings.

To come up with the grades, Leapfrog looks at things like medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The goal is to determine what a patient's risk of further injury or infection is if they visit a certain hospital.
According to the organization, more than 1,000 Americans die each day from preventable hospital errors. Hospitals given a B rating by Leapfrog had a 9 percent higher risk of avoidable death than A hospitals. That number jumps to 35 percent in C hospitals and 50 percent higher in D and F hospitals.

At the state level, Maine was ranked No. 1. Hawaii, Oregon, Wisconsin and Idaho rounded out the top five.
Since Leapfrog began its ratings in 2012, the organization says there have been significant strides in improving patient safety, such as a 21 percent decrease in hospital acquired conditions, increased use of computerized physician order entry systems, and millions of averted patient harms.

More than 1,000 people a day are estimated to die from preventable errors, making this the third leading cause of death in America.

“When we launched the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in 2012, our goal was to alert consumers to the hazards involved in a hospital stay and help them choose the safest option. We also hoped to galvanize hospitals to make safety the first priority day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog.

Here are the grades the California hospitals received. (Visit the full list to learn more about individual rankings.)

Patch Editor Deb Belt (Patch Staff) and Renee Schiavone (Patch Staff) contributed to this report / Image via Shutterstock