A biannual hospital safety rankings report released Wednesday showed a number of hospitals in Illinois received "A" grades while others moved down in the rankings, earning B, C or D grades.
The report, from healthcare watchdog group and nonprofit Leapfrog, ranks nearly 3,000 hospitals across the country on safety through using more than 30 metrics that have a "direct impact on patient safety outcomes." Some of those include nurse and doctor communication, hospital staff responsiveness, patient satisfaction and communication and discharge information, a press release said.
Using experts and advisors at Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, the group then worked to assign letter grades to hospitals on a scale of "A," "B," "C," D" and "F," according to the release.
The full list of Chicago area hospitals and their grades can be found below.
Not all hospitals in the country are represented in the rankings. According to the report, most of the data the group used comes from the federal agency Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"In some cases, CMS does not publish adequate safety data on an individual hospital," the report said. "For instance, a hospital without an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cannot report ICU safety measures."
The report also takes into account what, if any, information was provided by a hospital in "The Leapfrog Hospital Survey," an annual, voluntary survey from the organization that "asks hospitals to report quality and safety data" to the group.
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In Illinois, 111 hospitals were graded, up from the 109 graded in the fall. Overall, Illinois ranked 30th nationwide for hospital safety, with 24.8 percent of hospitals in the state earning an "A" grade. Utah had the highest number of "A" grade hospitals, with 51.9 percent of hospitals earning the high marks, the report said.
New to the report this year was "Metropolitan rankings," which are based on the percentage of "A" grades in metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or greater and at least six hospitals, the report said. The Chicago metropolitan area did not rank in the top 25, the results showed.
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For the spring 2024 rankings, no Illinois hospital received an "F" grade, unlike previous reports. In the Chicago area, eight earned a "D" grade, while others dropped from their previous earned spots.
At least seven Chicago hospitals moved up in the rankings this year, the report showed.
Among those to see a rise and receive a new "A" grades were Ascension Saint Francis in Evanston, Ottawa Regional Hospital and Health Care Center in Ottawa and Ascension Saint Mary in Kankakee. Ascension Saint Joseph in Chicago moved up to a "B" grade, along with Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and Humboldt Park Health. Community First Medical Center in Chicago also moved up, earning a "C" when it had previously earned a "D."
Ten hospitals fell in the rankings, earning lower grades than before. Edward Hospital in Naperville fell from an "A" to a "B," along with OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, Rush Oak Park Hospital, and Chicago Medicine AdventHealth in Glendale Heights.
St. Bernard Hospital in Chicago, which had previously earned an "A" grade, dropped to a "C," the report showed.
Dropping from "B" grades to "C" grades were Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and Swedish Hospital in Chicago. Additionally, three hospitals dropped into the "D" category, including Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
The full Leapfrog safety grades report for Spring 2024 can be found here.
Here's the full list of grades for Chicago-area hospitals:
Grade A
- Ascension Alexian Brothers, Elk Grove Village
- Ascension Resurrection, Chicago
- Ascension Saint Francis, Evanston
- Ascension Saint Mary, Kankakee
- Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst
- Endeavor Hospital Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park
- Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights
- Northwestern Medicine Hospital Central DuPage, Delnor, Huntley, Kishwaukee, McHenry, Lake Forest
- Ottawa Regional Hospital and Health Care Center, Ottawa
- Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
- Silver Cross Hospital, New Lenox
- Chicago Medicine AdventHealth, Bolingbrook, Hinsdale, LaGrange
- University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago
Grade B
- Ascension Mercy, Aurora
- Ascension Saint Alexius, Hoffman Estates
- Ascension Saint Mary Chicago
- Ascension Saint Joseph, Chicago B
- Edward Hospital, Naperville
- Chicago Medicine AdventHealth, Glendale Heights
- Humboldt Park Health, Chicago
- John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, Chicago
- Loretto Hospital, Chicago
- MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn
- Morris Hospital, Morris
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
- OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, Evergreen Park
- Rush Oak Park Hospital, Oak Park
- Rush Copley Medical Center, Aurora
Grade C
- Advocate Condell Medical Center, Libertyville
- Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington
- Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago
- Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge
- Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin
- Ascension Saint Joseph Joliet, Elgin
- Community First Medical Center, Chicago
- Franciscan Health Olympia Fields
- Ingalls Memorial Hospital, Harvey
- Jackson Park Hospital, Chicago
- Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Melrose Park
- Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood
- Mt. Sinai Hospital, Chicago
- Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, Palos Heights
- Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee
- Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
- St. Bernard Hospital, Chicago
- Swedish Hospital, Chicago
- University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, Chicago
- Vista Medical Center East, Waukegan
Grade D
- Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn
- Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove
- Advocate South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest
- Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago
- Roseland Community Hospital, Chicago
- Thorek Memorial Hospital, Chicago
- Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago
- West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park
An Advocate Health Care spokesperson provided the following statement to NBC Chicago in response to the report:
"Safety always has been and always will be our top priority, and we have robust plans in place to drive continued improvement," the emailed statement said. "While we firmly believe that meaningful quality and safety data should be transparent and available to the public, accurately measuring this data can be challenging as there are varied factors and methodologies that contribute to providing great care. We’re proud of our safety record and the excellent outcomes we achieve for our patients."
A St. Bernard Hospital spokesperson provided the following statement to NBC Chicago in response to the report:
"The Leapfrog Group has issued its Spring 2024 patient safety grades for hospitals across the country. St. Bernard Hospital received a C. While we are disappointed about this grade, especially after the two A grades we earned in 2023, we believe it is important to provide context for this grade change and our plan of action moving forward.
First, and foremost, we’d like to note that the patient safety practices and procedures evaluated to determine the Leapfrog grade remain strong. The Leapfrog Group determined that we are meeting key patient safety measures including hand hygiene, safe delivery of medication, prevention of falls with injuries, infection prevention and more. We are proud that our care providers continue to maintain high standards in these critical areas.
While we continue to perform well on key patient safety measures, we need to improve on measures targeting the overall patient experience. We strive to maintain dignified patient- and family-centered care, and now we are focusing on elevating our patient experience to the same high standards to which we hold patient safety.
We have taken steps to improve our patient interactions. We now have dedicated new staff and resources focused on patient experience and have stepped up ongoing training and education. Excellence in safe, quality patient care is a journey. The latest Leapfrog grade will inspire us to humbly accept the challenges that come with providing safe, respectful patient care."
This story will be updated with responses from health care centers as they are provided.
