CALIFORNIA — Nearly 34 percent of California hospitals received top grades in protecting patient safety, according to the spring 2023 hospital safety grades released Wednesday by The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit health care watchdog. That’s an improvement compared to the last round of rankings, even as the average risk of contracting deadly infections remained elevated nationwide after spiking to a five-year high during the pandemic.
With one-third of Golden State hospitals earning Leapfrog’s top grade, California is 12th in the nation when it comes to the percentage of high-grade hospitals. In the fall rankings, California placed 25th.
In addition to the nationwide elevated infection risk, 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.
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 California, 95 hospitals received an A, 68 hospitals received a B, 93 hospitals received a C, and 23 hospitals received a D grade. Two hospitals received an F: Los Angeles Community Hospital and Pacifica Hospital of the Valley.
“Quality of care and patient safety are our most important priorities at Los Angeles Community Hospital. We have already taken steps to address the issues identified in the recent Leapfrog survey, which is based on 2021-22 data,” Los Angeles Community Hospital officials said in an email to Patch. The hospital noted other ranking systems such as the Healthgrades and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that gave Los Angeles Community Hospital four and five star-ratings as well as the Patient Safety Excellence Award.
Here are the ratings, according to Leapfrog:
Adventist Health Lodi MemorialAHMC Anaheim Regional Medical CenterAlhambra Hospital Medical CenterAlvarado Hospital Medical Center, San DiegoArrowhead Regional Medical Center, ColtonBakersfield Heart HospitalBarton Memorial Hospital, South Lake TahoeChino Valley Medical CenterCommunity Hospital of San BernardinoCommunity Hospital of the Monterey PeninsulaDesert Regional Medical Center, Palm SpringsDoctors Medical Center of ModestoEden Medical Center, Castro ValleyEmanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital, GlendoraEmanate Health Inter-Community Hospital, CovinaGarden Grove Hospital and Medical CenterGarfield Medical Center, Monterey ParkGlendale Memorial Hospital and Health CenterGreater El Monte Community Hospital, South El MonteJFK Memorial Hospital, IndioKaiser Foundation Hospital – Baldwin Park Medical CenterKaiser Foundation Hospital – Redwood CityKaiser Foundation Hospital – SacramentoKaiser Foundation Hospital – San JoseKaiser Permanente Downey Medical CenterKaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical CenterKaweah Health, VisaliaKeck Hospital of USC, Los AngelesLong Beach Memorial Medical CenterMarian Regional Medical Center, Santa MariaMarinHealth Medical Center, GreenbraeMarshall Medical Center, PlacervilleMartin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Los AngelesMercy Hospital – Southwest, BakersfieldMercy Medical Center of ReddingNorthBay Medical Center, FairfieldNorthBay VacaValley Hospital, VacavilleNovato Community HospitalPalomar Medical Center EscondidoPalomar Medical Center PowayParkview Community Hospital Medical Center, RiversidePIH Health Hospital – WhittierPomona Valley Hospital Medical CenterProvidence St. Joseph Hospital OrangeRegional Medical Center of San JoseRiverside University Health System – Medical Center, Moreno ValleySan Leandro HospitalSanta Barbara Cottage HospitalSherman Oaks HospitalSierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Grass ValleySierra Vista Regional Medical Center, San Luis ObispoSonoma Valley HospitalSt. Francis Medical Center, LynwoodSt. Joseph’s Medical Center of StocktonSt. Jude Medical Center, FullertonStanford Health CareStanford Health Care Tri-Valley, PleasantonSutter Auburn Faith HospitalSutter Davis HospitalSutter Santa Rosa Regional HospitalSutter Solano Medical Center, VallejoSutter Tracy Community HospitalTwin Cities Community Hospital, TempletonUCI Health, OrangeUniversity of California Davis Medical Center, SacramentoUSC Arcadia HospitalValley Presbyterian Hospital, Van NuysWhittier Hospital Medical Center
C
Adventist Health – DelanoAdventist Health Simi ValleyAdventist Health Ukiah ValleyAdventist Health White Memorial, Los AngelesAHMC Seton Medical Center, Daly CityAlameda HospitalAlta Bates Summit Medical Center, OaklandAlta Bates Summit Medical Center – Alta Bates Campus, BerkeleyAnaheim Global Medical CenterAntelope Valley Hospital, LancasterBeverly Hospital, MontebelloCalifornia Hospital Medical Center, Los AngelesCalifornia Pacific Medical Center – Davies Campus, San FranciscoCedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey HospitalCedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los AngelesClovis Community Medical CenterCoast Plaza Hospital, NorwalkCollege Medical Center, Long BeachCommunity Hospital of Huntington ParkCommunity Memorial Hospital, VenturaCommunity Regional Medical Center, FresnoCorona Regional Medical CenterDameron Hospital, StocktonDoctors Hospital of MantecaDominican Hospital, Santa CruzEast Los Angeles Doctors HospitalEmanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital, West CovinaEmanuel Medical Center, TurlockEncino Hospital Medical CenterGood Samaritan Hospital, BakersfieldHemet Global Medical CenterHollywood Presbyterian Medical CenterHuntington Beach HospitalHuntington Hospital, PasadenaInland Valley Medical Center, WildomarJohn Muir Health Medical Center ConcordJohn Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek CampusKaiser Foundation Hospital – South SacramentoKaiser Permanente Foundation Hospital West Los AngelesKaiser Permanente Foundation Hospital Woodland HillsLakewood Regional Medical CenterLoma Linda University Medical Center, MurrietaLompoc Valley Medical CenterLos Angeles County – Harbor UCLA Medical Center, TorranceLos Angeles County – Olive View UCLA Medical Center, SylmarLos Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center, Los AngelesMemorial Hospital of GardenaMemorial Medical Center, ModestoMemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center, Fountain ValleyMenifee Global Medical Center, Sun CityMercy Hospital – Downtown, BakersfieldMonterey Park HospitalNatividad Medical Center, SalinasO’Connor Hospital, San JoseOrange County Global Medical Center, Santa AnaOroville HospitalPalmdale Regional Medical CenterPetaluma Valley HospitalPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital, Los AngelesPIH Health Hospital – DowneyPlacentia-Linda HospitalProvidence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical CenterProvidence Holy Cross Medical Center, Mission HillsProvidence Little Company of Mary Medical Center TorranceProvidence Mission Hospital Laguna BeachProvidence Mission Hospital Mission ViejoProvidence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, NapaProvidence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa MonicaProvidence Saint Joseph Medical Center, BurbankProvidence Santa Rosa Memorial HospitalProvidence St. Joseph Hospital EurekaRancho Springs Medical Center, MurrietaRedlands Community HospitalRiverside Community HospitalSaint Agnes Medical Center, FresnoSan Antonio Regional Hospital, UplandSan Gabriel Valley Medical Center, San GabrielSan Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, BanningSan Ramon Regional Medical CenterSanta Clara Valley Medical Center, San JoseSanta Paula HospitalShasta Regional Medical Center, ReddingSouth Coast Global Medical Center, Santa AnaSt. Louise Regional Hospital, GilroySt. Mary Medical Center of Long BeachSutter Amador Hospital, JacksonSutter Coast Hospital, Crescent CitySutter Delta Medical Center, AntiochTri-City Medical Center, OceansideVentura County Medical CenterWashington Hospital Healthcare System, FremontWest Hills Hospital and Medical CenterWilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus, Oakland
D
Adventist Health and Rideout, MarysvilleBarstow Community HospitalChapman Global Medical Center, OrangeEl Centro Regional Medical CenterFountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical CenterHenry Mayo Newhall Hospital, ValenciaHi-Desert Medical Center, Joshua TreeKern Medical Center, BakersfieldLos Alamitos Medical CenterMemorial Hospital Los BanosMission Community Hospital, Panorama CityPioneers Memorial Healthcare District, BrawleyProvidence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San PedroProvidence St. Mary Medical Center, Apple ValleySan Joaquin General Hospital, French CampSan Mateo Medical CenterSierra View Medical Center, PortervilleSouthern California Hospital at Culver CitySouthern California Hospital at HollywoodSt. Rose Hospital, HaywardVictor Valley Global Medical Center, VictorvilleWatsonville Community HospitalZuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
F
Los Angeles Community HospitalPacifica Hospital of the Valley, Sun Valley
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 or 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.
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