Connecticut hospitals are on the rise in the safety rankings! According to the Spring 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, Connecticut now ranks 23rd out of 49 states evaluated this season regarding daily health and safety practices, up from 27th in the Fall of 2021.
Medical errors remain one of the leading causes of preventable death in the country, resulting in an estimated 400,000 fatalities annually. Hospitals and medical centers are responsible for adhering to their oath of protecting patients against all foreseeable harm; this includes taking preventative measures at all levels of care to reduce infections, disease, and injuries occurring within the facility.
While Connecticut is still not one of the leading states for hospital health and safety practices, the increase in the rankings is hopeful. Here’s how residents can interpret the scores and a list of all state medical facilities evaluated this season.
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades Review
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are considered the ‘golden standard’ in health evaluations to determine how safe a hospital or medical center operates. The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization with over 20 years of experience helping to provide patients with transparency regarding their healthcare. Patients deserve to make educated decisions about their health, and it starts with holding medical facilities accountable for their practices.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are released biannually and center on five crucial areas of medical care that can significantly affect the safety of a facility:
- Infections
- Problems with Surgery
- Practices to Prevent Medical Errors
- Safety Problems
- Doctors, Nurse & Hospital Staff
Rankings are determined by analyzing the weight of 28 proven hospital safety measures based on three factors: improvement, evidence, and impact. To establish an overall letter grade ranking (A-F), the Leapfrog Group then categorizes each measure into two groups:
- Process/Structural Measures: Process measures include communications between hospital systems and staff. Structural measures represent a facility's environment and how effectively its systems serve patients.
Outcome Measure: These measures include outcomes and actions involved in patient care while a patient is receiving treatment.
Connecticut Hospital Rankings Spring 2022
Now, the moment we have all been waiting for! There were 29 Connecticut medical facilities evaluated in the Spring 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Report. None of these facilities received a rating lower than a ‘C’; however, Rockville General Hospital in Vernon did not receive a grade on this report, with no clear indication as to why.
The summary of the Spring 2022 grades includes:
- A Grade: 9 facilities
- B Grade: 9 facilities
- C Grade: 10 facilities
- NG: 1 facility
All Bridgeport hospitals evaluated saw improvements from Fall 2021, rising from a ‘C’ rating to a ‘B’ rating. You can find the complete list of evaluated hospitals and medical centers below with links to their full evaluation:
A-Grade
- Charlotte Hungerford Hospital- Torrington
- Day Kimball Hospital- Putnam
- Hartford Hospital- Hartford
- Johnson Memorial Hospital- Stafford Springs
- Middlesex Hospital- Middletown
- Stamford Health- Stamford
- The Hospital of Central Connecticut- New Britain
- The William W. Backus Hospital- Norwich
- University of Connecticut Health Center, John Dempsey Hospital- Farmington
B- Grade
- Bridgeport Hospital- Bridgeport
- Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus- Milford
- Bristol Health- Bristol
- Danbury Hospital- Danbury
- Griffin Hospital- Derby
- MidState Medical Center- Meriden
- St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center- Hartford
- St. Vincent's Medical Center Holdings, Inc, DBA- Bridgeport
- Windham Community Memorial Hospital- Willimantic
C- Grade
- Greenwich Hospital- Greenwich
- Lawrence & Memorial Hospital- New London
- Manchester Memorial Hospital- Manchester
- New Milford Hospital- New Milford
- Norwalk Hospital- Norwalk
- Saint Mary's Hospital- Waterbury
- Sharon Hospital- Sharon
- Waterbury Hospital- Waterbury
- Yale New Haven Hospital - Saint Raphael Campus- New Haven
- Yale-New Haven Hospital- New Haven
Not Graded (NG)
- Rockville General Hospital- Vernon
For more information on how to use the grades, Leapfrog has put together a helpful video for patients on learning to navigate the system.
How to Stay Safe
Not every hospital or medical facility will prioritize your health and safety above all else. It’s a sad reality in the industry, but it’s a factor patients must prepare for before seeking any type of treatment or medical procedure. We recommend researching medical facilities and physicians before scheduling any appointments. This step alone can weed out some potentially harmful providers known for making errors in care.
Additional steps patients can take while receiving care proven to prevent medical errors include:
- Ask all questions pertaining to your health. No concern should remain unaddressed, no matter how minor they seem.
- Ask for information about every medication prescribed and the purpose they serve.
- Research the side effects and alternative treatments for medication prescribed.
- Bring a loved one with you for another set of ears, and to take notes of what is said about your course of treatment.
- Prevent falls in medical centers by wearing non-slip socks and utilizing fall protection equipment (such as railings and walkers).
- Utilize nurses for assistance to prevent falls and injuries.
- Stay present for rounds and ask questions when loved ones are in care.
- Understand the care your loved ones receive.
- Keep notes of all observations.
- Ensure your doctor covers the plan for discharge and any other follow-up treatments suggested. It’s a known statistic that patients remember less than 50% of what is said by a doctor or medical provider once they leave the facility. Documenting provider instructions and treatment plans before you leave is essential.
Finally, if you are unable to advocate for yourself in a medical setting, bring a medical advocate with you to help make sure your needs are being met. You are a “customer” and medical providers must provide you with good customer service. Nothing is more important than our health.
Visit The Leapfrog Group for additional safety tips on how to protect the health of you and your loved ones.
Jacobs & Wallace Connecticut Medical Malpractice Attorneys
If you or someone you love has suffered and injury or has died due to the negligence of a medical care provider, you need an experienced law firm to represent you and your rights. Jacobs & Wallace, PLLC, has decades of experience fighting for the rights of Connecticut’s medical malpractice victims. Please contact us today for a FREE case evaluation: 203-332-7700.
