Blog Viewer

CHICAGO – Oct. 31, 2017 – The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based organization aiming to improve health care quality for consumers, employers and purchasers, announced the October 2017 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, assigning A, B, C, D and F letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. based on errors, accidents and infections. In Illinois, 111 hospitals were graded, and 33 were awarded an A, the highest letter grade, demonstrating these hospitals’ dedication to safe care.

Those hospitals continuously receiving A grades in Illinois for the last five years include:

• AMITA Health St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates

• Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst

• HSHS St. Joseph Hospital, Breese

• Northwestern Medical Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield

• OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington

• OSF St. Mary Medical Center, Galesburg

• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago

• Rush-Copley Medical, Aurora

• University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago

• West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park

Only two Illinois hospitals had grades below a C – Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Center in Evergreen Park and Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago.

The Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), the Leapfrog Group’s Illinois Regional Rollout leader, and a non-profit organization representing employer purchasers of health care, annually encourages Illinois hospitals to participate in Leapfrog’s online patient safety survey.

“Hospital quality and safety aren’t first of mind until something happens to you or your family,” said Larry Boress, MBGH president and CEO. “It’s at those times that people need clear, objective information on your local hospital and how likely it is that it’s a safe place to have a procedure. We remain committed to ensuring our hospitals offer the safest care to their patients and will continue to work collaboratively with hospitals and other key stakeholders in our community to realize improvements.”

Twice per year, more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals are assigned A, B, C, D and F grades by the Leapfrog Group. Of the 2,636 hospitals graded in Fall 2017, 862 earned an A, 662 a B, 965 a C, 161 a D and 16 an F. The grades are calculated by top patient safety experts and are peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

“We applaud the continued commitment to improving the safety of patients in local hospitals throughout Illinois,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade helps shed light on those hospitals that need improvement, but also celebrates those committed to making their communities safer.”

Because publicly available data is limited for a variety of reasons, The Leapfrog Group is not able to calculate a safety grade for every hospital in Illinois or for critical access hospitals, long-term care and rehabilitation facilities, mental health facilities, federal hospitals (e.g., Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Services, etc.) or specialty hospitals, including surgical centers and cancer hospitals or free-standing pediatric hospitals.

For more information about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade or to view a list of state rankings, please visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. www.leapfroggroup.org

About the Midwest Business Group on Health
MBGH is one of the nation’s leading non-profit employer coalitions of 130 mid, large and jumbo self-funded public and private employers, representing over 4 million lives and annually spending over $4 billion on health care. Members consist of leading health benefit professionals, with activities focused on education, research, benchmarking and community-based initiatives that increase the value of health benefits and health care services. MBGH is a member of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. www.mbgh.org

View Press Release