Directors Corner | November 2021 | Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, driven in Colorado by the Colorado Business Group on Health (CBGH), announced today the Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.

The independent grading system assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national measures of preventable errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade represents the largest set of hospitals ever graded with grades assigned to 2,901 facilities across the country.

In state rankings, Colorado was 5th with 48.8% of hospitals receiving an “A” grade.  43 hospitals were graded, and 21 earned an “A,” 7 earned a “B,” 12 earned a “C,” and 3 earned a “D.”  There were no hospitals in CO that earned an “F.”

The hospitals that earned an “A” include:

  1. Centura Health-Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, Castle Rock
  2. Centura Health-Avista Adventist Hospital, Louisville
  3. Centura Health-Longmont United Hospital, Longmont
  4. Centura Health-Mercy Regional Medical Center, Durango
  5. Centura Health-Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs
  6. Centura Health-St. Anthony North Hospital, Westminster
  7. Centura Health-St. Francis Medical Center, Colorado Springs
  8. Centura Health-St. Mary Corwin Medical Center, Pueblo
  9. Community Hospital, Grand Junction
  10. Delta County Memorial Hospital, Delta
  11. Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lafayette
  12. Lutheran Medical Center, Wheat Ridge
  13. Platte Valley Medical Center, Brighton
  14. Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Denver
  15. Rose Medical Center, Denver
  16. Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree
  17. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center, Grand Junction
  18. Swedish Medical Center, Englewood
  19. UCHealth Broomfield Hospital, Broomfield
  20. UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, Steamboat Springs
  21. Vail Health, Vail

CO hospitals that are recognized as straight “A” hospitals by Leapfrog since Spring 2018 are St. Francis Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center, Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rose Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

“The Leapfrog Group thanks the health care workers in Colorado and nationwide who work so hard for their communities. It’s important we recognize excellence, especially in times like these. But it’s also important to know when hospitals fall short because lives are at stake,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We see every day how hospitals can and will improve their safety when patients make clear it’s important to them.”

For more information about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, as well as individual hospital grades and state rankings, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Facebook and Twitter.

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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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.