Hospitals In Sarasota, Manatee Counties Given ‘A’ Ratings For Patient Safety

SARASOTA, FL — Multiple hospitals in Sarasota and Manatee counties have earned “A” ratings in patient safety from the Leapfrog Group.

For 20 years, the national watchdog organization has assigned a letter grade to U.S. general hospitals based on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections that kill or harm patients, according to a news release from Leapfrog. Grades are updated twice a year, in the fall and the spring.

The fall 2021 hospital safety grades represent the largest set of hospitals ever graded – 2,901 facilities across the country. Their grades are based on more than 30 evidence-based measures of patient safety, including for the first time, post-operative sepsis, blood leakage and kidney injury.

In Sarasota and Manatee counties, five hospitals earned an “A” grade:

• Sarasota Memorial Hospital
• Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
• Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
• Venice Regional Bayfront Health
• Englewood Community Hospital

Meanwhile, Blake Medical Center in Bradenton earned a “B” grade and Manatee Memorial Hospital, also in Bradenton, earned a “C.”

In a news release, Doctors Hospital said this is the 15th consecutive time the hospital has earned an “A” grade. This year’s high rating came despite the challenges of the pandemic, the hospital added.

“The past year and eight months have been the most challenging in healthcare. With COVID-19 we had to make quick adjustments as we learned more about the virus. Through it all our caregivers made serving our community safely their top priority,” Robert Meade, Doctors Hospital’s CEO said.

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Sarasota Memorial said it’s also continuing a streak of earning high marks from Leapfrog. It has earned straight “As” since it began participating in the voluntary hospital safety survey in 2016, the hospital said in a news release.

“Despite the challenges we have faced throughout this pandemic, the entire team at SMH has worked incredibly hard to continue providing the highest quality of care to all of our patients. Their commitment to this community is incredible, and we are so grateful for their efforts,” James Fiorica, chief medical officer for the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, said.

Of the nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals graded in this fall report card, 32 percent earned an “A,” 26 percent received a “B,” 35 percent got a “C,” 7 percent earned a “D” and less than 1 percent received an “F.”

Patch has reached out to Manatee Memorial for a comment.