States Ranked Best to Worst in Hospital Safety

WASHINGTON, DC — Hawaii has some of the safest hospitals in the country, according to new state rankings based on hospital surveys and federal data. Eight of the 12 Hawaii hospitals received an "A" grade in The Leapfrog Group's fall 2016 study. Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., all scored at the bottom of the rankings, with no "A"-grade hospitals.

The Leapfrog Group uses "30 evidence-based measures of patient safety," including patient injuries, accidents and infections. Numerical scores are converted into letter grades. Of more than 2,600 hospitals graded nationwide, there were 844 "A"-grade hospitals and only 20 "F"-grade hospitals. Leapfrog is a nonprofit founded by large employers in 2000 to improve health care quality and safety.

Idaho stands out for its progress in the rankings, according to Leapfrog, climbing from number 45 in spring 2013 to number two in fall 2016. North Carolina has also improved significantly, with the state climbing from number 19 to number five. Utah and Vermont were also noted for their progress.

States that have shown improvements have put a priority on safety, says Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder.

“In the fast-changing health care landscape, patients should be aware that hospitals are not all equally competent at protecting them from injuries and infections," she said in a statement. "We believe everyone has the right to know which hospitals are the safest and encourage community members to call on their local hospitals to change, and on their elected officials to spur them to action."

Leapfrog's grades aren't the only ratings that consumers can use to hold local hospitals accountable. Some of the data used by Leapfrog comes from federal measurements shared at Medicare's "Hospital Compare" website. On that site, hospitals are given 1- to 5-star ratings.

Here are the state rankings, based on the percentage of hospitals with "A" grades for safety, according to Leapfrog. Maryland hospitals do not receive Leapfrog grades:

1. Hawaii, 66.70 percent
2. Idaho, 63.60 percent
3. Maine, 62.50 percent
4. Wisconsin, 61.40 percent
5. North Carolina, 55.10 percent
6. Utah, 52.20 percent
7. Massachusetts, 51.70 percent
8. Vermont, 50.00 percent
9. Oregon, 48.50 percent
10. Virginia, 47.00 percent
11. Minnesota, 44.40 percent
12. Kansas, 43.80 percent
13. Mississippi, 40.50 percent
14. Rhode Island, 40.00 percent
15. Illinois, 39.80 percent
16. Ohio, 39.10 percent
17. Texas, 36.80 percent
17. New Jersey, 36.80 percent
19. Michigan, 36.70 percent
20. South Carolina, 34.00 percent
21. Montana, 33.30 percent
21. New Hampshire, 33.30 percent
23. Colorado, 32.60 percent
24. Tennessee, 31.80 percent
25. Louisiana, 30.60 percent
26. California, 30.30 percent
27. Missouri, 28.80 percent
28. Alabama, 28.30 percent
29. Iowa, 28.10 percent
30. Wyoming, 25.00 percent
31. Pennsylvania, 24.40 percent
32. Florida, 24.30 percent
33. Indiana, 23.80 percent
34. Nebraska, 23.50 percent
35. Kentucky, 23.10 percent
36. South Dakota, 22.20 percent
36. Georgia, 22.20 percent
36. Connecticut, 22.20 percent
39. Oklahoma, 20.50 percent
40. Washington, 19.60 percent
41. Arkansas, 17.90 percent
42. Arizona, 16.30 percent
43. Nevada, 15.00 percent
44. New Mexico, 12.50 percent
45. West Virginia, 12.00 percent
46. New York, 10.90 percent
47. Alaska, 0.00 percent
47. Delaware, 0.00 percent
47. Washington, D.C., 0.00 percent
47. North Dakota, 0.00 percent

See more about the safety grades, including the methodology.

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