3 Minnesota Hospitals Receive 'D' Grades In Report

MINNESOTA — Nine Minnesota hospitals received an A grade in hospital safety, according to new Fall 2018 ratings released by the Leapfrog Group on Thursday. Three received D grades.

The nonprofit group found that of the more than 2,600 hospitals graded in the country, 32 percent earned an A grade.

The Leapfrog Group explains that its rating system is focused entirely on errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The hospital safety grades are released by the nonprofit group twice a year, in the spring and in the fall.

New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, Massachusetts and Texas had the highest percentage of hospitals that received an A grade. The states with the lowest percentage of hospitals that received an A grade are Connecticut, Nebraska, Washington D.C., Delaware and North Dakota, according to Leapfrog. Washington D.C., Delaware and North Dakota did not have a single hospital that received an A grade.

Here are the Minnesota hospitals that were given an "A" by the Leapfrog Group:

• Essentia Health - Saint Joseph's Medical Center
• Fairview Range Medical Center
• Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital
• Lake Region Healthcare
• Lakeview Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and Austin - Albert Lea Campus
• Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and Austin – Austin Campus
• Mayo Clinic Health System In Red Wing
• Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital

Here are the hospitals that were given a "B" by the Leapfrog Group:

• Douglas County Hospital
• Essentia Health Saint Mary's Medical Center
• Fairview Southdale Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Hospital - Methodist Campus
• Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys Campus
• Ridgeview Medical Center
• St. Cloud Hospital
• St. Francis Regional Medical Center
• Woodwinds Health Campus

Here are the hospitals that were given a "C" by the Leapfrog Group:

• Abbott Northwestern Hospital
• Essentia Health-Virginia
• Fairview Ridges Hospital
• Healtheast St. John's Hospital
• Healtheast St. Joseph's Hospital
• Maple Grove Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Health System - Mankato Hospital
• Mercy Hospital - Unity Campus
• Mercy Hospital of Coon Rapids
• Regions Hospital
• Rice Memorial Hospital
• St. Luke's Hospital of Duluth
• United Hospital of St. Paul
• University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview - West Bank Campus
• Winona Health

Three Minnesota hospitals received a "D" rating:

• Hennepin County Medical Center
• North Memorial Health Hospital
• Sanford Bemidji Medical Center

“Health care was an important issue in the 2018 midterm elections, yet both parties are still neglecting the third leading cause of death in America—errors and infections in hospitals,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a press release. “Every elected official, from city councilors, to senators, to the President, should hold hospitals accountable and support efforts to improve patient safety.”

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 28 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. (You can read more about the letter grades here.)

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