New WI Hospital Safety Ratings Released: 2 Get 'D' Grade, 18 Get 'A'

WISCONSIN — Several hospitals across Wisconsin received top grades for protecting patient safety in the spring 2023 hospital safety grades, released Wednesday by health care watchdog The Leapfrog Group.

Wisconsin hospitals rose in Leapfrogs rankings compared to last year, rising from No. 41 to No. 28. Over 26 percent of the state's hospitals saw an "A" grade, compared to just under 12 percent last year around this time. The higher marks come as the average risk of contracting deadly infections remains elevated nationwide after spiking to a five-year high during the pandemic, according to the Leapfrog Group.

Meanwhile, patient experience measures across — like communication from doctors — declined around the nation, which Leapfrog said should be a "wake-up call" to hospitals.

The Leapfrog Group uses an academic grading scale with five letter grades to score nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide on more than 30 measures of patient safety. Leapfrog says its hospital rating system is the only one in the country focusing solely on a hospital’s ability to protect patients from preventable errors.

In Wisconsin, 18 hospitals received an A, 25 hospitals received a B, 23 hospitals received a C and 2 hospitals received a D grade. Zero hospitals received an F.

Here are the ratings, according to Leapfrog:

"A"

• Froedtert Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Health System - La Crosse
• HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital
• HSHS St Joseph's Hospital
• Aurora Medical Center Manitowoc County
• Aurora Medical Center Sheboygan County
• Aurora Medical Center of Washington County
• ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah
• Bellin Memorial Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Health System - Eau Claire
• HSHS St. Vincent Hospital of Green Bay
• Sauk Prairie Hospital
• Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital
• ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton
• Aurora BayCare Medical Center
• Aurora Medical Center of Oshkosh
• Aurora Medical Center Summit
• Aurora Medical Center Grafton

"B"

• UW Health East Madison Hospital
• Marshfield Medical Center – Minocqua
• Marshfield Medical Center - Weston
• Aurora Medical Center Bay Area
• UW Health University Hospital
• Beloit Memorial Hospital
• Aurora Lakeland Medical Center
• SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison
• Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
• SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital - Fond du Lac
• UnityPoint Health - Meriter
• Howard Young Medical Center
• Fort Memorial Hospital
• Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center - Janesville
• Aurora Sinai Medical Center
• ProHealth Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital
• Aurora Medical Center Burlington
• SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo
• Ascension NE Wisconsin - Mercy Campus
• HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital
• Aspirus Riverview Hospital
• Monroe Clinic Hospital
• ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital
• Ascension NE Wisconsin - St Elizabeth Campus
• Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital

"C"

• Marshfield Medical Center-Rice Lake
• Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital
• Ascension Columbia St Mary's Hospital Ozaukee
• Aspirus Wausau Hospital
• Marshfield Medical Center - Marshfield
• Aspirus Divine Savior Hospital
• Ascension Columbia St Mary's Hospital Milwaukee
• Aurora St. Luke's South Shore of Aurora Health Care Metro
• Froedtert West Bend Hospital
• Marshfield Medical Center Beaver Dam
• Ascension St. Francis Hospital
• Ascension All Saints Hospital
• HSHS St. Mary's Hospital of Green Bay
• Holy Family Memorial Medical Center
• Mile Bluff Medical Center
• Watertown Regional Medical Center
• Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus
• Aurora St Luke's Medical Center of Aurora Health Care Metro, Inc
• Aurora West Allis Medical Center
• Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - Elmbrook Campus
• Aurora Medical Center of Kenosha
• SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville
• Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire

"D"

• Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital
• Froedtert Kenosha Hospital

A representative from Froedtert did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the "D" grades.

High rates of three health care-associated infections, or HAIs, “should stop hospitals in their tracks,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release, noting that “infections like these can be life for death for some patients.”

“We recognize the tremendous strain the pandemic put on hospitals and their workforce, but alarming findings like these indicate hospitals must recommit to patient safety and build more resilience,” Binder said.

The problematic infections are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA; central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSI; and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTI. When compared to rankings that covered the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, the analysis found an increased infection ratio for all three infections. The spring 2023 rankings cover late 2021 and 2022.

However, another such infection, Clostridioides difficile, or C.Diff, improved and there was no significant change for surgical site infections post surgery, the report said. The standardized infection ratio used to measure changes in the rates of infections compares the actual number of reported infections to the predicted number at each hospital.

“Not only are HAIs among the leading causes of death in the U.S., they also increase length of hospitalization stays and add to costs,” Binder said. “Our pre-pandemic data showed improved HAI measures, but the spring 2023 Safety Grade data spotlights how hospital responses to the pandemic led to a decline in patient safety and HAI management.”

Patient experience measures included communication with nurses and doctors, staff responsiveness, and communication about medicine and discharge information. Nationally, the average of all five measures declined when compared to pre-pandemic measures, according to the report.