Which Central KY hospitals are the safest? Watchdog group releases latest grades

While U.S. hospitals have seen improvements in infection control since the start of the pandemic, some facilities in the Bluegrass State are still struggling with infection rates.

Some Central Kentucky hospitals scored below average in preventing health care-acquired infections, such as sepsis after surgery, MRSA and others, in an autumn 2025 patient safety report from The Leapfrog Group.

The organization is a nonprofit that provides ratings and safety data for hospitals. It recently released grades for nearly 3,000 short-term, acute care hospitals across the country. The grades are updated twice each year, in the spring and fall.

Out of seven central Kentucky hospitals, six received the same grades as the spring, while one saw an improved grade. Baptist Health Lexington received an A this fall, compared to a B in the spring grading cycle.

Nationwide, Leapfrog gave fewer hospitals As and Cs this fall, and more Bs compared to the spring report.

The group calculates its hospital safety grades on a combination of voluntary surveys and mandatory reporting from third-party sources, such as the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Kentucky moved up in the state rankings this fall for the greatest percentage of “A” hospitals, with an increase from 23.3 to 25%, bringing the state from 36th to 26th in the nation.

Across the U.S., health care-acquired infection rates are showing continued improvement after a major spike during the pandemic, Leapfrog Group program analyst Alex Campione said in a recent interview with McClatchy Media. Hospitals are also seeing a general improvement in Leapfrog’s hand-washing metric, which focuses on training and monitoring.

While some metrics have seen overall improvement recently, one important metric has not yet recovered from COVID.

“Hospitals are improving in patient experience, but many hospitals are still behind from where they were prior to the pandemic,” Campione said.

One possible reason for the declined patient experience is staffing shortages, Campione added. Health care worker shortages have been rampant nationwide for years, due in part to frequent staff burnout and increased turnover.

“If health care providers are stretched thin, then they don’t have that time to spend with patients, that kind of quality time where a patient feels heard and they’re able to communicate either their medications or the discharge information that’s so crucial to providing safe care,” Campione said.

Two Central Kentucky hospitals, Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East, scored below average for patient experience measures such as communication with nurses and responsiveness of hospital staff.

Here’s what else 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 2025 grade: A

Spring 2025 grade: B

Fall 2024 grade: A

Here are the areas in which Baptist Health Lexington scored below average this fall:

• Infection in the urinary tract
• Sepsis infection after surgery
• Kidney injury after surgery
• Serious breathing problem
• Harmful events
• Falls causing broken hips
• Staff work together to prevent errors
• 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. “Each grading period provides us with opportunities to improve, and continuous improvement is always our goal. This national recognition is a testament to our dedication to safe and excellent patient care. Every staff member plays a vital role in creating an environment where patients can feel confident in the care they receive.”

UK Good Samaritan Hospital

Fall 2025 grade: B

Spring 2025 grade: B

Fall 2024 grade: C

Here are the areas in which UK Good Samaritan Hospital scored below average this fall:

• Infection in the blood
• Sepsis infection after surgery
• Kidney injury after surgery
• Harmful events
• Staff work together to prevent errors (UK Good Samaritan Hospital received a zero for this metric.)

University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital

Fall 2025 grade: B

Spring 2025 grade: B

Fall 2024 grade: B

Here are the areas in which University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital scored below average this fall:

• MRSA infection
• Infection in the blood
• Sepsis infection after surgery
• Kidney injury after surgery
• Harmful events
• Staff work together to prevent errors (University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital received a zero for this metric.)

“UK HealthCare is steadfast in our commitment to delivering exceptional patient safety and quality, which remain central to our daily efforts,” spokesperson Allison Perry wrote in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader. “Across our academic health system — including UK Chandler Hospital, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, Golisano Children’s at UK, UK King’s Daughters and UK St. Claire — we provide specialized care to some of Kentucky’s sickest and most medically complex patients. We are continually enhancing our workforce, infrastructure and systems to elevate care, and these ongoing investments in safety and quality are demonstrated in the new Leapfrog results.”

Saint Joseph Hospital

Fall 2025 grade: C

Spring 2025 grade: C

Fall 2024 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
• Collapsed lung
• Communication with nurses
• Responsiveness of hospital staff

Saint Joseph East

Fall 2025 grade: C

Spring 2025 grade: C

Fall 2024 grade: B

Here are the areas in which Saint Joseph East scored below average this fall:

• Harmful events
• Dangerous bed sores
• Patient falls and injuries
• Collapsed lung
• Communication about medicines
• Communication about discharge
• Nursing and bedside care for patients (Saint Joseph East scored a 40 out of 100 for this metric; the average was 79.09.)
• Communication with doctors
• Communication with nurses
• Responsiveness of hospital staff

“The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Report, which utilizes over 22 national performance measures, serves as one important metric in the broader landscape of health care quality evaluation,” Dr. Shelley Stanko, interim chief medical officer at Saint Joseph Health, wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hospitals, regardless of grade, are focused on improvement. We also recognize every community has unique strengths and challenges. Our dedicated teams at these hospitals are actively engaged in rigorous performance improvement initiatives, leveraging the detailed insights provided by Leapfrog, alongside our extensive internal quality and safety data. We’ve seen consistent improvement over the past five years, and we’re confident those improvements will continue.”

Georgetown Community Hospital

Fall 2025 grade: B

Spring 2025 grade: B

Fall 2024 grade: B

Here are the areas in which Georgetown Community Hospital scored below average this fall:

• Accidental cuts and tears
• Patient falls and injuries

Data was unavailable for five metrics, not due to any lack of reporting.

Clark Regional Medical Center

Fall 2025 grade: A

Spring 2025 grade: A

Fall 2024 grade: A

Clark Regional Medical Center scored below average for one metric this fall, “specially trained doctors care for ICU patients.” The hospital received a 5 out of 100 for this metric, the lowest score given.

“Clark Regional Medical Center and Georgetown Community Hospital are proud to have achieved strong results from both 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade reporting cycles. This recognition reflects our dedication to ensuring that patients throughout Central Kentucky have access to high-quality, safe care close to home,” Lifepoint Central Kentucky Interim Market President Bruce Tassin wrote in an emailed statement.

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 peer-reviewed and published by the Journal of Patient Safety. There were no changes to the methodology this fall compared to the spring, Campione said.

Grades are composed 50% by process and structural measures and 50% by outcome measures. The scoring scales differ by the chosen measure.

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.

Some of the areas you should pay special attention to when choosing a hospital include hand-washing, infection in the blood and patient falls, Leapfrog’s website says. Campione said while all the measures are important, she would pay particular attention to health care-acquired infection rates.

You should also consider how far off your hospital was from the average for any given standard. When evaluating, you can see the highest and lowest scores given, which helps in weighing a value. 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 trending 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.

Do you have a question about health care in Kentucky for the Herald-Leader? We’d like to hear from you. Email ask@herald-leader.com or fill out our Know Your Kentucky form below.

Meredith Howard

Belleville News-Democrat

Meredith Howard is a service journalist with the Belleville News-Democrat. She is a Baylor University graduate and has previously freelanced with the Illinois Times and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription