5 Hudson Valley Hospitals Earn High Safety Grades: Leapfrog

HUDSON VALLEY — How safe are hospitals in the Hudson Valley?

The answer varies from hospital to hospital, but you more than likely can find at least one nearby facility where you’re in good hands, according to new safety grades released by a national watchdog organization focused on improving health care in the United States.

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.

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,” 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.

Here’s a snapshot of how hospitals in the Hudson Valley were graded:

• HealthAlliance Hospital Mary's Avenue Campus, Kingston, received an A.
• Northern Dutchess Hospital, Rhinebeck, received an A.
• Putnam Hospital, Carmel, received an A.
• St. Anthony Community Hospital, Warwick, received an A.
• White Plains Hospital, White Plains, received an A.
• Bon Secours Community Hospital, Port Jervis, received a B.
• Garnet Health Medical Center, Middletown, received a B.
• Good Samaritan Hospital, Suffern, received a C.
• Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital, Mount Vernon, received a C.
• Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Nyack, received a C.
• New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital, Cortlandt Manor, received a C.
• Phelps Hospital, Sleepy Hollow, received a C.
• St. John's Riverside Hospital – Andrus Pavilion, Yonkers, received a C.
• St. John's Riverside Hospital – Dobbs Ferry Pavilion, Dobbs Ferry, received a C.
• St. John's Riverside Hospital – ParkCare Pavilion, Yonkers, received a C.
• Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, received a C.
• Columbia Memorial Hospital, Hudson, received a D.
• Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, New Rochelle, received a D.
• Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Newburgh, received a D.
• New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital, Bronxville, received a D.
• Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, received a D.
• St. Joseph's Medical Center of Yonkers, Yonkers, received a D.
• Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, received a D.
• MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, was not graded.

In response to a request from Patch, a spokesman for Northwell Health, which operates Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, sent the following statement about receiving a grade of D:

“All Northwell Health hospitals are transparent in sharing quality and performance information with the public. Whenever information contained in the various ‘hospital report cards’ identifies a potential quality issue, the public can rest assured that we are already aware of it and working aggressively to resolve it. We do this routinely as part of our ongoing internal operations and analysis — no matter how well these facilities are already performing — so that we can provide the best patient experience possible. Whether we agree or disagree with the methodology used for one report card over another (Leapfrog’s self-reporting guidelines for measurement do not compare to the validated methods of others), we take hospital report cards seriously and use them for their intended purpose — to improve the quality of care to our patients. As always, we continue to work hard, pay attention to detail and be vigilant about patient safety and satisfaction.”

A spokesman for Westchester Medical Center sent the following statement regarding the D grade:

"Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) hospitals and our care teams are laser-focused on providing high quality care to every single patient at each of our facilities.

"Leapfrog’s measurement methodology is not adjusted to reflect that Westchester Medical Center is the region’s only major trauma and quaternary care hospital, and each year accepts nearly 10,000 transfers from other facilities in the region. Many of these transferred patients are suffering from critical illnesses or injuries and come here for treatment to address complex, and often life or death issues.

"We believe that Westchester Medical Center’s grade from Leapfrog is not fully reflective of our quality of care, or outcomes. Regardless of our experience with the efficacy and accuracy of any grading methodology, providing high-quality care is an essential value in our mission and we must continue to address all potential areas for improvement."

Patch also asked for comments from Columbia Memorial Hospital, Montefiore, New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital and St. Joseph’s Medical Center of Yonkers about their D grades. When the comments are received, this article will be updated.

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.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated from the original version to include a response from Westchester Medical Center.