66 Tennessee Hospitals Graded on Patient Safety: 21 'A' Grades, Three 'D' Grades

NASHVILLE, TN — Twenty-one hospitals in Tennessee scored an "A" on new safety grades released Monday by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group. Three hospitals scored "D" grades. No hospital in the state received an "F."

The Leapfrog Group uses "30 evidence-based measures of patient safety" including patient injuries, accidents and infections. Numerical scores are converted into letter grades. Of more than 2,600 hospitals graded nationwide, there were 844 "A" grade hospitals and only 20 "F" grade hospitals. Leapfrog is a nonprofit founded by large employers in 2000 to improve health care quality and safety.

Among Nashville area hospitals, StoneCreast Medical Center, Tristar Centennial Medical Center and Williamson Medical Center received "A" grades. Nashville General Hospital received a "D" grade.

Tennessee was ranked 24th when states were compared based on the number of hospitals with "A" grades. States that have shown improvement have put a priority on safety, says Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder.

“In the fast-changing health care landscape, patients should be aware that hospitals are not all equally competent at protecting them from injuries and infections," she said in a statement. "We believe everyone has the right to know which hospitals are the safest and encourage community members to call on their local hospitals to change, and on their elected officials to spur them to action."

See States Ranked Best to Worst in Hospital Safety

Leapfrog's grades aren't the only ratings that consumers can use to hold local hospitals accountable. Some of the data used by Leapfrog comes from federal measurements shared at Medicare's "Hospital Compare" website. On that site, hospitals are given 1- to 5-star ratings.

Here are Tennessee hospital grades from Leapfrog:

• Nashville General Hospital, D
• Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital, C
• Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, C
• Saint Thomas West Hospital, B
• StoneCrest Medical Center, A
• Tristar Centennial Medical Center, A
• Tristar Skyline Medical Center, B
• TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center, B
• TriStar Summit Medical Center, B
• Vanderbilt University Hospital, B
• Williamson Medical Center, A

• Baptist Memorial Hospital ‐ Union City, A
• Baptist Memorial Hospital of Collierville, B
• Baptist Memorial Hospital of Memphis, C
• Blount Memorial Hospital, C
• Claiborne Medical Center, C
• Cookeville Regional Medical Center, C
• Cumberland Medical Center, B
• Erlanger Baroness Hospital, C
• Erlanger East Hospital, C
• Fort Loudoun Medical Center, A
• Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, A
• Franklin Woods Community Hospital, A
• Henry County Medical Center, A
• Indian Path Medical Center, D
• Jackson‐Madison County General Hospital, B
• Johnson City Medical Center, A
• Laughlin Memorial Hospital, A
• LeConte Medical Center, B
• Lincoln Medical Center, D
• Maury Regional Hospital, A
• Memorial Hixson Hospital, A
• Memorial Hospital Chattanooga, B
• Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, B
• Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, C
• Methodist North Hospital, C
• Methodist South Hospital, C
• Methodist University Hospital, C
• Milan General Hospital, A
• Morristown‐Hamblen Healthcare System, B
• North Knoxville Medical Center, B
• Northcrest Medical Center, A
• Parkridge East Hospital, C
• Parkridge Medical Center, C
• Parkwest Medical Center, A
• Physicians Regional Medical Center, C
• Regional One Health, C
• River Park Hospital, B
• Roane Medical Center, B
• Saint Francis Hospital ‐ Bartlett, A
• Saint Francis Hospital ‐Memphis, B
• Skyridge Medical Center Main Campus, C
• Skyridge Medical Center West Side Campus, C
• Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Winchester, B
• Southern Tennessee Regional Health Systems Pulaski, B
• Starr Regional Medical Center, B
• Sumner Regional Medical Center, C
• Sycamore Shoals Hospital, B
• Takoma Regional Hospital, A
• Tennova Healthcare – Harton, C
• The University of Tennessee Medical Center, A
• Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center, A
• Tristar Horizon Medical Center, A
• Turkey Creek Medical Center, C
• Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center, A
• Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center, B

See more about the safety grades, including the methodology.

Image via Shuttestock