See How Aurora Hospitals Fare In New Safety Grade Report

AURORA, IL — The Leapfrog Group released its fall 2024 hospital safety grades Friday, scoring Aurora's two hospitals along with 111 others in Illinois.

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit health care watchdog group that grades hospitals twice a year, assigns letter grades ranging from "A" to "F," for 3,000 general hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents and infections.

In Aurora, Ascension Mercy and Rush Copley Medical Center both received "B" grades. Ascension Mercy, off North Highland Avenue, maintained its rating from spring 2024 and fall 2023, when it dropped from the "A" standing it earned in fall 2022 and spring 2023, according to the group.

Similarly, Rush Copley Medical Center, about 7 miles away, also kept its "B" grade from spring 2024 and fall 2023. Before then, the hospital had kept an "A" grade through at least spring 2021, Leapfrog data shows.

Overall, hospitals have made great strides since the pandemic years, when the risk of contracting deadly infections was elevated nationwide, but more work needs to be done, The Leapfrog Group said in a news release.

Illinois ranked 23rd among states for the number of hospitals earning the top letter grade. Overall, the state had 32 hospitals that earned "A" grades, 18 with "B" grades, 48 with "C" grades, 13 with "D" and two with "F" grades.

For the third grading cycle, Utah tops the list with the highest percentage of "A" hospitals, followed, respectively, by Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado and South Carolina. California ranked in the top 10 for the first time since the fall of 2014.

The fall 2024 ratings show improvement in patient safety across several performance measures, including notable improvements in health care-associated infections, hand hygiene and medication safety. Preventable deaths and harm in hospitals have long been a major policy focus for The Leapfrog Group.

Binder said significant variation in performance continues across U.S. hospitals. For example, four states — Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont — had no "A" hospitals.

"That's why it's so important for people to consult grades when making decisions about seeking care," Binder said. "All hospitals are not the same."