- June 1, 2018
- Tucker Law
- Medical Malpractice
New York hospitals rank among the worst in the nation when it comes to safety ratings, according to a nonprofit patient advocacy organization. Connecticut didn’t fare much better than New York, but New Jersey did noticeably better – finishing in the top 20. All this was in a new report on states’ hospital safety released in late April.
Nonprofit Leapfrog Group’s bi-annual report is a comprehensive assessment which grades nearly 2,500 hospitals in all 50 states. Using an A through F scale, the ratings are based on criteria from a cross-section of objective healthcare data resources. Leapfrog’s report gives states an overall ranking which is based on a cumulative average of all their hospitals, then breaks down the individual healthcare facilities as well.
Based on many factors, a few of which include reported hospital errors, accidents and infections, the grades are calculated by using 30 publicly available safety-performance measures from five different databases:
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Leapfrog’s own Hospital Survey
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- The American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey.
Every Leapfrog Group report is peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Patient Safety.
The rankings are based on the percentage of hospitals in each state that earned an ‘A’ safety grade in Leapfrog’s latest study. New York came in at No. 48, dropping one spot since its last rating back in the fall of 2017. Eight hospitals – a little over five percent – in the Empire State received “A” scores, while five got an “F.” Three of the five are in Brooklyn, and Staten Island and Long Island each had one failing hospital. A total of 137 hospitals throughout the state were assessed. Nationwide, only one percent of all hospitals throughout the U.S. which were reviewed got a failing (“F”) grade. You can search Leapfrog’s database of listed hospitals and their state rankings
The following local New York hospitals got an “A”: Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, Suffolk County; St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, Nassau County; Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, Putnam County; and NYC Health Hospitals in New York City.
Connecticut fared better than New York, but not by much. According to Leapfrog, that state ranked No. 46, which was down 16 spots from its fall 2017 score. Only two, 8.33 percent, of the 24 hospitals in the Constitution State received “A” scores. No hospitals scored a “D” or an “F.” These Connecticut hospitals got an “A” – The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich and Bristol Hospital in Bristol.
New Jersey significantly outpaced others in the tri-state area. The Garden State ranked No. 17, down six spots since its fall score, despite 22 “A” grades this past spring.
“Patients should be aware that hospitals are not all equally competent at protecting them from injuries and infections,” Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said in a statement which accompanied the published report.
If you have any questions about medical or prescription malpractice, or if you or a family member was injured in your treatment at a local hospital, you’re encouraged to contact Tucker Lawyers PC any time. We can help. And if we don’t win, you don’t pay.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]