- Only 19 hospitals statewide, or about 13%, received the highest safety rating, A, from consumer advocacy group Leapfrog.
- 33 New York hospitals received the second-lowest grade, D.
New York hospitals received mixed safety ratings as the state health system’s ranking improved this year despite being among the worst in the country, a consumer advocacy group reported.
Only 19 hospitals statewide, or about 13%, received the highest A safety rating from Leapfrog, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, while 33 hospitals received the second-lowest D rating. None of the hospitals in New York received an F.
The review looked at a variety of serious health-related issues, from infectious disease prevention measures to surgical errors.
New York state ranked the 39th worst overall in the nation for hospital safety, tied with Alabama, according to Leapfrog’s latest fall grades.
New York’s fall ranking was an improvement over its spring ranking, where it was listed as the 44th worst in the country.
The most recent ranking found that the percentage of hospitals in New York that received an A safety rating, at just under 13%, fell far behind the top-performing states, which ranged between 45% and 55%, including New Jersey, Virginia, and Colorado and New Hampshire.
What is in the national ranking?
New York has historically had some of the worst hospital quality and safety ratings in the country, despite spending more on healthcare than other states.
Possible reasons for the poor ratings include limited government fines imposed on hospitals that put patients at risk, as well as the Failure of some hospitals to implement best practices.
The study looked at Leapfrog and the star rating system of the federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Hospital trade groups have challenged many of the rankings, citing the lack of consistent standards and differing data review timeframes that failed to take into account the complexities of healthcare delivery.
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However, Leapfrog claimed it focused on avoidable safety issues like infections, medical errors like sponges or tools left in the body, and complications like collapsed lungs that should worry patients.
While the differences between the rankings are related to the scoring measures used, experts say patients should try to be aware of the results in each respective system as they focus on a variety of important issues.
In addition, nationally, over the past decade, hospitals have shown significant improvements in reducing some never-events, Leapfrog noted.
Two never-events, both of which fell by about 25%, were cases of falls and trauma, and incidents of objects being unintentionally left in a body after surgery, the group added, claiming their safety levels contributed to the progress.
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Hospital safety classes in NY
Many of the hospitals in the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Southern Tier, and Mohawk Valleys have seen their safety scores improve or deteriorate since Leapfrog released its last scores in the spring.
Some hospitals were not evaluated because they were not included in the review, which excludes facilities for a number of reasons, including a lack of sufficient data reported to regulators and Leapfrog.
finger lakes
FF Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua: C
General Hospital Geneva: C
Highland Hospital in Rochester: D
Newark-Wayne Community Hospital: C
Rochester General Hospital: C
Strong Memorial Hospital: C
Unity Hospital in Rochester: C
UR Medicine Noyes Health in Dansville: D
Hudson Valley
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson: D
Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown: B
Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern: C
MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie: D
Hospital Montefiore New Rochelle: C
Montefiore Nyack Hospital: C
Montefiore St Luke’s Cornwall in Newburgh: c
New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital at Cortlandt Manor: B
New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville: C
North Holland Hospital in Rhinebeck: C
Northern Westchester Hospital at Mount Kisco: C
Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow: B
Putnam Hospital in Carmel: B
St Anthony Parish Hospital in Warwick: A
St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers: C
St. John’s Riverside Hospital at Dobbs Ferry: C
St. Joseph’s Medical Center at Yonkers: C
Vassar Brothers Medical Center at Poughkeepsie: C
Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla: D
White Plains Hospital: A
Southern Tier
Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira: D
Aurelia Osborn Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta: A
Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis: B
Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca: C
Guthrie Corning Hospital: A
Guthrie Cortland Medical Center: C
Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital in Binghamton: C
UHS – Binghamton General Hospital: C
UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich: C
UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City: C
St Joseph’s Hospital in Elmira: D
Mohawk Valley
Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare in Utica 😀
Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville: C
Oneida Health Hospital in Oneida 😀
Rome Memorial Hospital: C
Saint Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam: D
St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica: D
For more information on New York grades, visit the Leapfrog website at hospitalsafetygrade.org.