Two Central KY hospitals got lower safety grades this fall, new watchdog report says
A national watchdog group recently scored some Lexington-area hospitals below average for safety metrics, including health care associated infections, surgical errors and harmful events.
The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that provides ratings and safety data for hospitals, and it recently released grades for nearly 3,000 short-term, acute care hospitals across the country. The organization updates grades twice each year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
Leapfrog’s safety grade is the only rating system focused specifically on the prevention of errors, the organization’s director of health care ratings, Katie Stewart, said in a recent interview with the Herald-Leader.
Out of seven Central Kentucky hospitals, two facilities saw lower grades compared to the spring, while one hospital received a higher grade. All seven hospitals participated in Leapfrog’s voluntary self-reporting survey.
“We have seen participation in our Leapfrog hospital survey continue to grow,” Stewart said of national trends.
Participation in the survey is critical for transparency, informed decision-making for patients and the ability of the hospital to improve, Stewart said. Leapfrog has seen U.S. hospitals improve average performance for several metrics in recent grading cycles.
“Nationally, we are seeing improvements in patient safety in many different areas, such as health care associated infections,” Stewart said.
A health care associated infection is one that wasn’t present when a patient was admitted to the hospital, but developed due to poor infection control. While U.S. hospitals have on average seen improvements and returned to pre-pandemic infection rates, several Central Kentucky hospitals continue to struggle. Health care associated infections are among the leading threats to patient safety, Stewart said.
Two other areas where metrics are improving nationally are hand washing and medication safety.
Kentucky improved in the rankings this fall for the states with the greatest percentage of top-performing hospitals, jumping from 35th to 22nd place. Almost 30% of Kentucky hospitals received A grades in the fall review cycle.
Here’s what to know about how Central Kentucky hospitals performed in Leapfrog’s latest grading cycle, plus how to interpret ratings and which areas should be most heavily considered.
Baptist Health Lexington
Fall 2024 grade: A
Spring 2024 grade: A
Fall 2023 grade: A
Here are the areas in which Baptist Health Lexington scored below average this fall:
MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection
Infection in the urinary tract
Surgical site infection after colon surgery
Kidney injury after surgery
Patient falls and injuries
Hand washing (Baptist Health Lexington received a 40 out of 100 for hand washing; the average was 72.43.)
Effective leadership to prevent errors
“Our commitment has always been to put our patients first. It is at the heart of everything we do,” Baptist Health Lexington president Chris Roty wrote in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader. “This national recognition is a testament to our dedication to safety, excellence, and continuous improvement. Every team member plays a vital role in creating an environment where patients can feel confident in the care they receive.”
UK Good Samaritan Hospital
Fall 2024 grade: C
Spring 2024 grade: B
Fall 2023 grade: B
Here are the areas in which UK Good Samaritan Hospital scored below average this fall:
MRSA infection
Infection in the blood
Infection in the urinary tract
Sepsis infection after surgery
Kidney injury after surgery
Serious breathing problem
Harmful events
Patient falls and injuries
Falls causing broken hips
“The academic medical system of UK HealthCare – UK Chandler Hospital, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, UK King’s Daughters and UK St. Claire – provides care for Kentuckians across the state, including those with the most complex health needs,” UK HealthCare spokesperson Allison Perry wrote in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader.
“Patient safety and quality of care is a priority for us. We have, and will continue to, invest significant resources to improve these areas to ensure our patients have the best possible experience. We are also proud to be ranked the top hospital in Kentucky by U.S. News for nine years running, with three of our specialties (cancer, OB/GYN, and ENT) improving upon their ranking as a Top 50 program this year as well.”
University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital
Fall 2024 grade: B
Spring 2024 grade: B
Fall 2023 grade: C
Here are the areas in which University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital scored below average this fall:
MRSA infection
Sepsis infection after surgery
Kidney injury after surgery
Serious breathing problem
Harmful events
Patient falls and injuries
Falls causing broken hips
Saint Joseph Hospital
Fall 2024 grade: C
Spring 2024 grade: C
Fall 2023 grade: C
Here are the areas in which Saint Joseph Hospital scored below average this fall:
Sepsis infection after surgery
Dangerous object left in patient’s body
Blood leakage
Accidental cuts and tears
Harmful events
Dangerous bed sores
Falls causing broken hips
Collapsed lung
Communication about medicines
Communication about discharge (Saint Joseph Hospital scored an 83 out of 100 for this metric, the average score was 85.14.)
Communication with nurses
Responsiveness of hospital staff
“Patient safety is our top priority. It’s important to recognize that Leapfrog is just one of the many ratings agencies looking at hospital safety and quality. Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East have been recognized as top performers in various areas by other organizations,” CHI Saint Joseph Health chief medical officer Dr. Dan Goulson wrote in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader.
“The Leapfrog organization has some very specific requirements that heavily influence the overall score. Our caregivers are dedicated to providing the highest level of safe and quality care for our patients. We are laser focused on those requirements. We want the A-level care identified by other organizations to match with an A score with this reporting method.”
Saint Joseph East
Fall 2024 grade: B
Spring 2024 grade: B
Fall 2023 grade: B
Here are the areas in which Saint Joseph East scored below average this fall:
Sepsis infection after surgery
Accidental cuts and tears
Harmful events
Dangerous bed sores
Patient falls and injuries
Collapsed lung
Communication about medicines (Saint Joseph East scored a 70 out of 100, the average was 74.33.)
Communication about discharge (Saint Joseph East scored an 82.)
Data was unavailable about Saint Joseph East’s performance on three infection metrics; this does not denote a lack of safety or transparency. This can be because the service isn’t something a particular hospital provides or because the hospital didn’t have enough patients or cases to report data for a particular condition or procedure, according to Leapfrog.
Georgetown Community Hospital
Fall 2024 grade: B
Spring 2024 grade: A
Fall 2023 grade: C
Here are the areas in which Georgetown Community Hospital scored below average this fall:
Accidental cuts and tears
Patient falls and injuries
Specially trained doctors care for patients in the intensive care unit (Georgetown Community Hospital received a 5 out of 100 for this metric, the lowest score given to any hospital.)
Data was unavailable for Georgetown Community Hospital on five metrics.
“Clark Regional Medical Center and Georgetown Community Hospital are committed to providing high-quality patient care in the central Kentucky region. We are proud of our Leapfrog hospital safety grades throughout 2024 which continue to demonstrate our hospitals’ ongoing commitment to excellence and teams’ relentless focus on patient safety, quality and innovation,” Cliff Wilson, market president of Lifepoint Central Kentucky and chief executive officer of Georgetown Community Hospital, wrote in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader.
Clark Regional Medical Center
Fall 2024 grade: A
Spring 2024 grade: B
Fall 2023 grade: B
Here are the areas in which Clark Regional Medical Center scored below average this fall:
Collapsed lung
Specially trained doctors care for patients in the intensive care unit (Clark Regional Medical Center received a 5 out of 100 for this metric, the lowest score given to any hospital.)
Data was unavailable for Clark Regional Medical Center on three metrics.
How are hospital grades calculated?
Safety grades are calculated using up to 22 national safety measures from the Leapfrog survey, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other data sources. The full methodology is available online and is peer-reviewed and published by the Journal of Patient Safety.
Grades are composed 50% by process and structural measures and 50% by outcome measures. The scoring scales differ by the chosen measure.
How should you use these scores?
Leapfrog emphasizes you should not refuse emergency care based on hospital ratings. The group intends the scores to be used when planning things like childbirth, surgery referrals or chronic illness treatment.
The areas you should pay most attention to when choosing a hospital include hand washing, infection in the blood and patient falls, Leapfrog’s website says.
You should also consider how far off your hospital was from the average for any given standard. When evaluating a hospital, you can see the highest and lowest scores given, which helps in weighing a value. The “below average” category can include hospitals that scored 0.01 points under goal, along with facilities with the lowest possible score.
For hospitals that responded to Leapfrog’s survey, there’s often information available about which areas the hospital has improved in and which areas are not going in the right direction.
A hospital being ungraded does not denote a lack of safety. Ratings are often unavailable for smaller providers, children’s hospitals, surgical centers and critical access hospitals.
Leapfrog allows you to search for hospitals by name, location or state. There’s an online search tool where you can find information about more hospitals.
Do you have a question about health care in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Email ask@herald-leader.com or fill out our Know Your Kentucky form.
