Illinois ranked 23rd for states with highest number of A graded hospitals
CHICAGO – November 15, 2024 – The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, driven in Illinois by the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), announced the fall 2024 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. In Illinois, 110 hospitals were graded and 32 earned an A, 18 a B, 47 a C, 12 a D, and one an F.
MBGH, a non-profit organization representing employer purchasers of health care, and The Leapfrog Group’s Illinois Regional Leader, annually encourages hospitals statewide to participate in Leapfrog’s online patient safety survey. The grades reflect preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections that together kill more than 500 people a day in the United States.
The fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grade shows hospitals nationwide are making strides in patient safety across several performance measures including improvements in health care-associated infections, hand hygiene and medication safety.
In addition to issuing grades to almost 3,000 individual general hospitals, The Leapfrog Group ranks states based on percentage of A hospitals, and Illinois moved up to 23rd nationally after being ranked number 30 in the previous grading period. Three hospitals have consistently earned straight As since 2012:
- Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital
- Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital
- University of Chicago Medical Center
“Preventable medical errors happen across the country far too often, including in our own community,” said Cheryl Larson, MBGH president and CEO. “We are very proud of our Illinois Grade A hospitals and moving up in our ranking to 23rd in the nation. In addition, this round of grades shows improvements in patient safety across the country, which is promising. The employers in our coalition believe we all benefit from hospital transparency, and we can work together to continue to reduce preventable harm and advance patient safety.”
President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group Leah Binder, added, “The progress we’ve witnessed at the hospitals in Illinois is encouraging and worthy of applause. However, there is still much work to be done to continue making gains in patient safety. We commend hospitals that are clearly focusing on prioritizing patients and their safety—an effort that takes absolute dedication from hospital staff at all levels.”
The Leapfrog Group has a more than 10-year history of assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the US, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.
Detailed hospital performance information, including patient experience and safety measures, as well as grades for individual hospitals searchable by states and localities is available at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. Among its initiatives, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 and 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. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. It is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring. To look up your hospital’s Safety Grade, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting employers seeking solutions to better manage the high cost of health care and the health and productivity of their covered populations. Founded in 1980, MBGH offers members leading educational programs, employer-directed research projects, purchasing opportunities, and community-based activities that increase the value of health care services and the health benefits they offer to members. MBGH serves over 150 companies that provide benefits to over 4 million lives, with employer members spending more than $15 billion on health care each year. For additional details visit MBGH.org and follow us on LinkedIn.
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