New MI Hospital Safety Ratings Released: 4 Get 'D' Grade, 22 Get 'A'

MICHIGAN — Several Michigan hospitals received top grades in protecting patient safety, even as the average risk of contracting deadly infections remained elevated nationwide after spiking to a five-year high during the pandemic, according to the spring 2023 hospital safety grades released Wednesday by The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit health care watchdog.

Patient experience measures — like communication from doctors — also declined, according to the report. Leapfrog said the findings should be a wake-up call to hospitals nationwide.

The Leapfrog Group uses an academic grading scale with five letter grades to score nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide on more than 30 measures of patient safety. Leapfrog says its hospital rating system is the only one in the country focusing solely on a hospital’s ability to protect patients from preventable errors.

In Michigan, 22 hospitals received an A, 27 hospitals received a B, 29 hospitals received a C and four hospitals received a D grade. Zero hospitals received an F.

A

Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield Campus, Southfield

Ascension St Joseph Hospital, Tawas City

Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo

Henry Ford Allegiance Health, Jackson

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, West Bloomfield

Holland Hospital, Holland

Garden City Hospital, Garden City

Lake Huron Medical Center, Port Huron

McLaren Port Huron, Port Huron

Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital, Cadillac

Munson Medical Center, Traverse City

ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital, Adrian

ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital, Coldwater

Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, Big Rapids

Spectrum Health Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph

Spectrum Health Lakeland Niles Hospital, Niles

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, Ludington

Spectrum Health United Hospital, Greenville

Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital, Zeeland

Trinity Health Livingston Hospital, Howell

Trinty Health Saint Mary's - Grand Rapids

University of Michigan Health - Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor

B

Ascension River District Hospital, East China

Ascension Genesys Hospital, Grand Blanc

Ascension Providence Hospital, Novi Campus

Ascension Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo

Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital, Rochester

Ascension St John Hospital, Detroit

Beaumont Hospital, Farmington Hills

Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe

Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak

Beaumont Hospital, Trenton

Beaumont Hospital, Troy

Covenant Medical Center, Saginaw

DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, Commerce Township

Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit

Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, Wyandotte

McLaren Central Michigan, Mount Pleasant

McLaren Lapeer Region, Lapeer

McLaren Northern Michigan, Petoskey

Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital, Grayling

Oaklawn Hospital, Marshall

Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital, Grand Rapids

Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids

Trinty Health Chelsea Hospital, Chelsea

Trinity Health Grand Haven, Grand Haven

Trinity Health Oakland Hospital, Pontiac

UP Health System - Marquette

UP Health System - Portage, Hancock

C

Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Madison Heights Campus

Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Warren Campus

Ascension St Mary's Hospital, Saginaw

Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn

Beaumont Hospital, Taylor

Beaumont Hospital, Wayne

Bronson Battle Creek

Dickinson Hospital - Iron Mountain (AKA Marshfield Medical Center - Dickinson)

DMC Harper University Hospital, Detroit

Henry Ford Macomb Hospital - Clinton Township

Hillsdale Hospital, Hillsdale

Hurley Medical Center, Flint

McLaren Bay Region, Bay City

McLaren Greater Lansing, Lansing

McLaren Macomb, Mount Clemens

Memorial Healthcare, Owosso

Mercy Health Muskegon, Muskegon

Munson Healthcare Otsego Memorial Hospital, Gaylord

MyMichigan Medical Center Gratiot, Alma

MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, Alpena

MyMichigan Medical Center Midland, Midland

MyMichigan Medical Center Sault, Sault Sainte Marie

MyMichigan Medical Center West Branch, West Branch

ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital, Monroe

Sparrow Hospital & Health System, Lansing

Three Rivers Health, Three Rivers

Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, Ypsilanti

Trinity Health Livonia, Livonia

University of Michigan Health - West, Wyoming

D

DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit

DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital, Detroit

McLaren Flint, Flint

McLaren Oakland, Pontiac

High rates of three health care-associated infections, or HAIs, “should stop hospitals in their tracks,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release, noting that “infections like these can be life for death for some patients.”

“We recognize the tremendous strain the pandemic put on hospitals and their workforce, but alarming findings like these indicate hospitals must recommit to patient safety and build more resilience,” Binder said.

The problematic infections are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA; central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSI; and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTI. When compared to rankings that covered the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, the analysis found an increased infection ratio for all three infections. The spring 2023 rankings cover late 2021 and 2022.

However, another such infection, Clostridioides difficile, or C.Diff, improved and there was no significant change for surgical site infections post surgery, the report said. The standardized infection ratio used to measure changes in the rates of infections compares the actual number of reported infections to the predicted number at each hospital.

“Not only are HAIs among the leading causes of death in the U.S., they also increase length of hospitalization stays and add to costs,” Binder said. “Our pre-pandemic data showed improved HAI measures, but the spring 2023 Safety Grade data spotlights how hospital responses to the pandemic led to a decline in patient safety and HAI management.”

Patient experience measures included communication with nurses and doctors, staff responsiveness, and communication about medicine and discharge information. Nationally, the average of all five measures declined when compared to pre-pandemic measures, according to the report.