Local Hospitals Rated in 'Safety Score' Rankings

Marc Torrence contributed to this article

The Hospital Safety Score examines how well each hospital does at keeping their patients safe from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. Information is compiled from surveys, public data and information from the Center for Disease Control.

Leapfrog assigned scores to more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. Hospitals were given a letter grade from A through F based on several factors. Of the 2,571 hospitals studied nationwide, 798 earned an A, 639 earned a B, 957 earned a C, 162 earned a D and 15 earned an F.

Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville was among 50 hospitals in Illinois to receive an “A” grade. Here is a look at how other local hospitals fared:

• Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest: C
• Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan: B
• Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington: B
• NorthShore University HealthSystem-Highland Park Hospital: C
• Centegra Hospital - McHenry: A
• Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights: A
• NorthShore University HealthSystem -Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview: C
• Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge: A

A full list of Hospital Safety Scores in Illinois can be found here.

The lowest-ranked hospitals in Illinois, which all received a “D” rating, were:

• Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago
• Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago
• Franciscan St. James Health - Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields
• Franciscan St. James Health - Chicago Heights in Chicago Heights
• Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville

The top hospitals across the country, according to the Hospital Safety Score, are found in Vermont (No. 1), Maine (No. 2) , Rhode Island (No. 3), Massachusetts (No. 4), and Minnesota (No. 5). Illinois hospitals came in at No. 15 on the list. State rankings were based on a percentage of state hospitals receiving an A grade.

Leapfrog looked at medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections to determine the grades. The goal was to determine a patient's risk of further injury or infection if they visited a certain hospital.

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.

The analysis estimates that 33,459 lives could be saved if every hospital improved their safety record to A standards. Still, the study estimates 43,903 avoidable deaths in A hospitals each year.

Leapfrog releases its rankings twice a year.

“It is time for every hospital in America to put patient safety at the top of their priority list, because tens of thousands of lives are stake,” Leapfrog President Leah Binder said in a press release. “The Hospital Safety Score alerts consumers to the dangers, but as this analysis shows, even A hospitals are not perfectly safe.”