Bi-annual Hospital Safety Ratings Released

The Leapfrog Group, a nationally recognized nonprofit “committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health care system,” released its semi-annual safety ratings for hospitals. The ratings are the result of scores on 28 measures of hospital safety. 
Much of the data is based on what hospitals have to report to the Center of Medicine and Medicaid Service (CMS), with additional input from a Leapfrog Hospital Survey. The grades are on an A through F scale, and are issued for over 2,600 hospitals across the nation.
Local Hospitals
In the fall 2019 grades, three area hospitals were rated, with one slipping from a B to a C grade.
Cape Regional Medical Center, in Court House, dropped from its previous B grade to a C grade, largely on the basis of one measure. 
Overall, the hospital scored above average on 16 of the 28 measures, with the best score possible on four measures. Its score on specially trained doctors’ care for intensive care unit (ICU) patients dropped in this scoring cycle, causing the loss of the overall B grade.
An intensivist is a physician with advanced training in the care of intensive care or critical care patients. The scoring methodology is measuring the level to which the hospital staffs the ICU with physicians who have specialized training in critical care medicine.
The Leapfrog standard is for the ICU to have an intensivist on-site eight hours per day, and able to respond to calls within five minutes when not on site.
According to Andrea McCoy, M.D., chief medical officer for Cape Regional, the grade drop was due to the Leapfrog scoring cycle hitting the hospital as it transitioned from “an independent ICU intensivist physician to Cooper Critical Care intensivist. During this transition, Cape Regional had a lapse in ICU intensivist coverage required to meet the Leapfrog standards. As of July 1, 2019, when Cooper intensivist started, Cape Regional has been in full compliance with the Leapfrog standards.”
McCoy added that “Cape Regional is committed to safe patient care and continually assesses opportunities to implement Leapfrog and National Quality Forum best practices.”
Prior to this recent scoring cycle, Cape Regional has maintained a B grade on the semiannual scoring for the past three years. With the transition in ICU completed, it expects to return to a higher grade in the spring 2019 cycle.
Shore Medical Center, in Somers Point, retained its A grade. The hospital is one of 31 hospitals in the state to earn an A grade. Across the 28 measures used in the scoring methodology, Shore received scores in 19 of the measures that were better than the average for U.S. hospitals, and in 12 specific measures, it received the best hospital score possible on the Leapfrog scale.
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, with both its Mainland Campus and its hospital in Atlantic City maintained its B grade. Over one third, 35%, of the state’s hospitals received a grade of B. On 17 of the Leapfrog measures, AtlantiCare scored above the average of U.S. hospitals. On nine of the categories, it received the best hospital score possible.
New Jersey Scores
Statewide, 69 hospitals were scored. There were 31 A grades, 24 B grades, 12 C grades, and 2 D grades. 
The state did well nationally, with 80% of the grades either A or B. Compared to the last grade cycle, nine state hospitals went up, and 12 went down in their scores. 
New Jersey finished eighth in the nation in percentage of hospitals with an A grade, down from sixth place in the spring 2019 scores. The top three state scores were in Maine, Utah, and Virginia, respectively.
Three states, Wyoming, Alaska, and North Dakota were tied for last in the state rankings, with no hospitals with an A rating.
Those interested in checking the score of any hospital across any of the measures can do so at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.]