Princeton Hospital Earns A 'B' In Latest Hospital Rankings

PRINCETON, NJ — University Medical Center of Princeton in Plainsboro received a high grade from The Leapfrog Group in a report released on Tuesday. The hospital earned a “B.” The hospital safety grades are released by the nonprofit group twice a year, in the spring and in the fall.

Leapfrog assigns A,B,C,D and F letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the United States. Leapfrog explains that the safety grade includes 27 measures that are taken together to produce a single letter grade representing a hospital's overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.

The group uses performance measures from a variety of sources, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Leapfrog noted that of the 2,632 hospitals graded in Tuesday's update, 832 earned an "A," 662 a "B," 964 a "C," 159 a "D" and 15 an "F."

A hospital earns a “B” when its numerical score is average and up to 0.6 standard deviations or more above the average. In each of the below categories, the number represents the number of infections at the hospital compared to the number of infections expected, given the number of patients expected and actually cared for, and how widespread the infection is in the community. A number less than 1 means there were less infections, while a number greater than 1 means there were more.

Here are University Medical Center's scores:

MRSA Infection: 0.412 (average was 0.950, and the worst hospital score in this category was a 3.610). MRSA can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections.

Clostridium Difficile (C diff) Infection: 0.783 (average was 0.902, and the worst hospital score in this category was 2.232). C. diff can spread via contaminated equipment or by providers who fail to properly wash their hands between patients.

Infection in the blood during ICU stay: 0.000 (average was 0.486, and the worst hospital score in this category was 2.339). This is the best score a hospital can achieve. If a patient is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he or she may be given a central line (a tube inserted into the body to deliver medication and other treatments). Patients with a central line are at high risk for developing a dangerous infection in the blood. These serious infections can lead to other complications, increase recovery time, and can often lead to death.

Infection in the urinary tract during ICU stay: 0.246 (average was 0.553, and the worst hospital score in this category was 2.130). If a patient is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he or she may require a urinary catheter. Patients with catheters are at risk for developing a dangerous infection in the urinary tract. These serious infections can lead to other complications, increase recovery time, and can often lead to death.

Surgical site infection after colon surgery: 1.435 (average was 0.860, and the worst hospital score in this category was 3.177).

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EDITOR'S NOTE: An original version of this story referred to the hospital by an incorrect name. The name should read University Medical Center of Princeton in Plainsboro.