6 Hudson Valley Hospitals Earn 'A' Rating On New Safety Grades

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Six hospitals in the Hudson Valley were given top marks in The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2024 hospital safety grades released Friday.

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.

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.

The Hudson Valley had six hospitals that achieved an "A grade." They are:

• NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester in Bronxville. Upgraded from "B" in spring 2024.
• Putnam Hospital in Carmel. Also achieved an "A" in spring 2024.
• Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. Also achieved an "A" in spring 2024.
• Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck. Also achieved an "A" in spring 2024.
• Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow. Upgraded from "B" in spring 2024.
• White Plains Hospital in White Plains. Achieved an "A" in spring 2024.

Overall, the Hudson Valley had:

• Three hospitals that earned "B" grades;
• Seven hospitals that earned "C" grades;
• Three hospitals that earned "D" grades; and
• Zero hospitals that earned "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 on health care-associated infections, hand hygiene and medication safety. Preventable deaths and harm in hospitals has long been a major policy focus for The Leapfrog Group.

While noting the gains hospitals have made in patient safety have saved "countless lives," Leapfrog Group president and CEO Leah Binder said in a news release that medical centers nationwide need to accelerate their progress "because no one should have to die from a preventable error in a hospital."

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."

Nationally, health care-acquired infections reached their highest peak since 2016 in the fall 2022 safety grades, but they have since declined dramatically, according to the report.

Also, central line-associated bloodstream infections were down 38 percent, catheter-associated urinary tract infections were down 36 and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections decreased by 34 percent.

For more information on the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, visit the website.