Most L.A. Hospitals Received Failing Grades

LOS ANGELES, CA - About 22 percent of hospitals in Los Angeles received "A" grades in a report card released Monday rating efforts on patient safety, while more than half were rated C or worse.

The report by The Leapfrog Group found that 23 percent of hospitals in California taking part in the survey -- 59 out of 256 -- received A grades, making the state 37th in the nation, a steep drop from last year's seventh- place national ranking.

In Los Angeles, 17 out of 77 hospitals in the survey received A grades, while 43 were rated C or lower.

Vermont topped the safety list with five out of six hospitals, or 83.3 percent, receiving A grades. Maine, which topped last year's list, fell to second, with 62.5 percent of its 16 hospitals earning A grades.

"It is time for every hospital in America to put patient safety at the top of their priority list, because tens of thousands of lives are (at) stake," said Leah Binder, president/CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. "The Hospital Safety Score alerts consumers to the dangers, but as this analysis shows, even A hospitals are not perfectly safe."

Leapfrog rated 2,571 hospitals across the country. Of that group, 798 received A grades, while 639 were rated B, 957 got Cs, 162 earned Ds and 15 were rated F.

According to Leapfrog, the rankings are based on hospitals' ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections. this year's report also factored in patient surveys on issues about communication with doctors and nurses, information about medicines and responsiveness of hospital staff.

According to statistics cited by the organization, there is a 9 percent higher risk of avoidable death at a B hospital, as opposed to an A hospital, and a 35 percent higher risk in a C hospital and 50 percent higher risk in a D or F.

The rankings are available online at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock