Park Slope Hospital Earns 'C' In New Safety Ranking

BROOKLYN, NY — As Brooklyn's healthcare workers continue to fight a long, hard battle against the coronavirus, some hospitals are faring better than others in patient safety, according to a new ranking.

The pandemic reversed years of progress in patient safety, according to a national ranking of patient safety in U.S. hospitals — including 13 in Brooklyn — released this week by the Leapfrog Group, a healthcare watchdog nonprofit.

Out of the hospitals graded in Brooklyn only one was given an A ranking and another one got a B grade; most of the rest (seven) received Ds and four hospitals received Cs — including New York - Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope. The hospital did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

The borough was not alone — only six hospitals citywide did well enough to earn an A grade, according to the ranking.

"The health care workforce has faced unprecedented levels of pressure during the pandemic," Leapfrog Group president and CEO Leah Binder said in a news release. "As a result, patients' experience with their care appears to have suffered."

The ranking analyzes a hospital's ability to prevent errors that harm its patients, including protecting patients from injuries and infections, based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Leapfrog's Hospital Survey, according to a press release.

Nationally, a third of hospitals received an A grade, 24 percent received Bs, 36 percent received Cs and less than 10 percent received Ds or Fs, according to the organization.

Safety grades are released by the nonprofit organization twice per year, in the spring and the fall.

The ratings of nearly 3,000 hospitals across the country focus on accidents, injuries and infections, and help to assess how well a facility prevents medical errors and other harm to patients.

Find a full list of Brooklyn's hospital safety scores here.

Anna Quinn and Kathleen Culliton contributed to this report.