NorthShore University HealthSystem Leapfrog Safety Grades Fall

EVANSTON, IL — A national health care safety watchdog reduced its ratings of three NorthShore University HealthSystem hospitals, while grades remained steady at two hospitals acquired by the the health care system in recent years.

The Leapfrog Group on Wednesday released its fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grades, which assign a letter grade to the nation’s general hospitals based on more than two dozen measurements of their effectiveness at preventing medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections that kill or harm patients.

Evanston, Highland Park and Glenbrook hospitals all had their grades drop by a single level. Evanston and Glenbrook fell from "A" to "B" between the spring and fall of 2021, while Highland Park went from "C" to "B."

Swedish and Northwest Community hospitals, which NorthShore has added in recent years, maintained their ratings. Swedish received a "B," while Northwest Community was given it's sixth consecutive "A" in the biannual ratings.

This year’s list reviewed just over 2,900 hospitals, the largest number of hospitals ever graded.

“As the pandemic continues, we all have heightened awareness of the importance of hospitals in our communities and in our lives,” Leapfrog Group CEO Leah Binder said in a release. “It is critical that all hospitals put patient safety first. Now we have more information on more hospitals than ever before, so people can protect themselves and their families."

NorthShore University Health System senior director of public relations provided a statement in response to the ratings and noting with pride that Northwest Community has maintained its "A" grade.

"We take quality and safety matters very seriously and are constantly assessing our processes to help ensure we are providing exceptional care for our patients and communities," it said. "The latest performance period represents July 2018 through December 2019. Since that time we have successfully instituted quality enhancements at several of our hospitals which have resulted in significant and sustained improvement."

Find grades for other north suburban hospitals below:

Amita Health Saint Francis Hospital Evanston
355 Ridge Ave., Evanston
Spring 2021 Grade: C
Fall 2021 Grade: B

NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Hospital
2650 Ridge Ave., Evanston
Spring 2021 Grade: A
Fall 2021 Grade: B

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
1774 Dempster St., Park Ridge
Spring 2021 Grade: C
Fall 2021 Grade: C

NorthShore University HealthSystem Glenbrook Hospital
2100 Pfingsten Road, Glenview
Spring 2021 Grade: A
Fall 2021 Grade: B

NorthShore University HealthSystem Highland Park Hospital
777 Park Ave. W., Highland Park
Spring 2021 Grade: B
Fall 2021 Grade: C

Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
1000 N. Westmoreland Road
Spring 2021 Grade: B
Fall 2021 Grade: C

Advocate Condell Medical Center
801 S. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville
Spring 2021 Grade: C
Fall 2021 Grade: C

Vista Medical Center East
1324 N. Sheridan Road, Waukegan
Spring 2021 Grade: D
Fall 2021 Grade: D

To determine each hospital’s Leapfrog grade, a panel of medical experts selected 30 evidence-based measures of patient safety such as postoperative sepsis, blood leakage and kidney injury. They then determined the weight of each measure based on evidence, opportunity for improvement and patient impact.

Data on each measure was collected through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Information from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, available to all hospitals to complete, also affects grades.

Currently, Leapfrog does not assign grades to military or Veterans Administration hospitals, critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, children’s hospitals or outpatient surgery centers.

Skokie Hospital is considered to be a specialty hospital because it serves as the NorthShore Orthopaedic & Spine Institute, according to a spokesperson.

The lowest-rated hospital in the north suburbs was Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.

"Vista did not participate in Leapfrog’s reporting program and do not feel it reflects our commitment to quality and safety," Vista Health System Marketing Manager Stephanie Vera told Patch in a statement. "Like all hospitals, we are rated by various organizations for patient care quality, safety and satisfaction, and each rating system differs in its methodology."

Vera said the hospital is focused on patient safety and satisfaction and has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for hip and knee surgery and as a primary stroke center, as well as accreditation as a bariatric surgery center.

"Hospital performance scores and their methodologies vary widely among the numerous rating organizations throughout the U.S.," Vera said. "When making health care decisions, patients and consumers should have access to all available tools at their disposal to support their decision-making process."

Related: New Illinois Hospital Safety Grades: 33 A's, 5 D's, 1 F

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade methodology has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Patient Safety.

The full methodology for the 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is available online.

The five states with the highest percentages of "A-graded" hospitals are Virginia, North Carolina, Idaho, Massachusetts and Colorado, but there were no "A" hospitals in Delaware, Washington, D.C. and North Dakota.

Overall, 32 percent of hospitals received an "A" grade, 26 percent got "B's", 35 received a "C," 7 percent got a "D" and less than 1 percent got an "F."