MD Hospital Safety Ratings: 9 'A' Grades, 1 'D' Grade On List

MARYLAND — How safe are hospitals in Maryland? Numerous Maryland hospitals received top safety marks while others didn't quite measure up in The Leapfrog Group's annual fall safety grades.

The nonprofit health care watchdog group grades hospitals twice a year, assigning letter grades from "A" to "F" based on each hospital's ability to protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

The Leapfrog Group on Wednesday released the fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade, which assigns a letter grade to the nation’s general hospitals based on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections that kill or harm patients. The fall report represents the largest set of hospitals ever graded with grades assigned to 2,901 facilities.

• Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: patch.com/subscribe.

“As the pandemic continues, we all have heightened awareness of the importance of hospitals in our communities and in our lives,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in a news 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,” Binder said.

In Maryland, nine hospitals received an "A" grade, 17 hospitals received a "B" grade, 15 hospitals received a "C" grade and one hospital received a "D" grade. No Maryland hospitals received an "F" grade.

Here are the rankings, according to Leapfrog:

A grade

• Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis
• Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland
• Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
• Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore
• The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
• UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Glen Burnie
• University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, Chestertown
• University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton, Easton
• University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson

B grade

• Carroll Hospital Center, Westminster
• Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, Germantown
• Howard County General Hospital, Columbia
• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore
• MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore
• MedStar Harbor Hospital, Baltimore
• MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Olney
• MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center, Clinton
• MedStar St. Mary's Hospital, Leonardtown
• MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore
• Meritus Medical Center, Hagerstown
• Suburban Hospital, Bethesda
• Union Hospital, Elkton
• University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, La Plata
• University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore
• University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, Baltimore
• UPMC Western Maryland, Cumberland

C grade

• Adventist HealthCare Fort Washington Medical Center, Fort Washington
• Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Rockville
• Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Silver Spring
• Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, Baltimore
• Atlantic General Hospital, Berlin
• CalvertHealth Medical Center, Prince Frederick
• Doctors Community Hospital, Lanham
• Frederick Health Hospital, Frederick
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Towson
• Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring
• Northwest Hospital, Randallstown
• Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Baltimore
• TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, Inc., Salisbury
• UM Harford Memorial Hospital, Havre De Grace
• University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, Bel Air

D grade

• University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, Upper Marlboro

To determine each hospital’s 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.

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.

Findings from the fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade include:

• Thirty-two percent of hospitals received an "A” grade; 26 percent received a "B," 35 percent received a "C," 7 percent received a "D," and less than 1 percent received an "F.”

• The five states with the highest percentages of "A" hospitals are Virginia, North Carolina, Idaho, Massachusetts and Colorado.

• There were no "A" hospitals in Delaware, Washington, D.C. and North Dakota.