Nearly half of hospitals in the Los Angeles area received “A” grades in a report card released this week rating efforts on patient safety, while almost one-third were rated C or worse.
Two Los Angeles-area hospitals received F grades: Antelope Valley Hospital and Western Medical Center of Santa Ana.
The report by The Leapfrog Group found that 42.7 percent of hospitals in California taking part in the survey—106 out of 248—received A grades, making the state seventh in the nation. However, 37 percent of the state’s hospitals received C, D or F grades.
Maine topped the safety list with 61.1 percent of its 18 hospitals receiving A grades.
In the Los Angeles area, 31 out of 70 hospitals in the survey received A grades, while 22 were rated C or lower.
“At a time when more than 1,000 people die every day from preventable accidents in hospitals, Leapfrog believes that patient safety should be job #1 in every hospital, 24-7,” said Leah Binder, president/CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. “To reinforce that goal of consistent vigilance, we’ve made it easier for patients and others to evaluate a hospital’s previous safety record on the Hospital Safety Score website.”
Leapfrog rated 2,583 hospitals across the country. Of that group, 782 received A grades, while 719 were rated B, 859 received Cs, 143 earned Ds and 20 were rated F.
According to Leapfrog, the rankings are based on hospitals’ ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The rankings are available online at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
