ROCKFORD — A national watchdog organization released its latest grades for patient care and hospital safety for hospitals across the country—including Rockford.
Rockford hospitals received a mixed bag for overall grades with the three hospitals receiving a “B,” “C”, and “D.”
The grades were released by the non profit organization The Leapfrog Group.
The hospitals are graded on 32 measures, including problems with surgery, safety problems and doctors, nurses and hospital staff. From there, each hospital is graded “below average,” “average,” or “above average.”
Hospitals are then assigned a letter grade of A, B, C, D or F in order to provide a complete picture of patient safety.
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The Leapfrog Group’s grades are the only hospital ratings program based solely on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grades are released every spring and fall.
How Rockford hospitals fared for spring 2022
OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center: B
The top-rated hospital in the area is OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center, which received a “B” grade overall. OSF’s Rockford location has received a “B” grade from Leapfrog every year since the spring of 2019.
The Leapfrog Group gave the medical center an above average grade in 25 of the possible 32 measures with the remaining seven being below average.
The medical center received above average grades in every category under the “Safety Problems” category, meaning staff is well trained on how to handle different medical problems, such as a collapsed lung or dangerous blood clots.
“Providing the highest level of care has always been our focus,” said Paula Carynski, president of OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center. “Our teams are pushing higher on safety and quality standards and collaborating together to continue to keep getting these high scores. We are proud of our mission partners and honored to be recognized once again as the highest scoring Rockford hospital.”
UW Health’s SwedishAmerican Hospital: C
The second-rated hospital in Rockford was UW Health’s SwedishAmerican Hospital which received a “C” grade.
The hospital has received a “C” grade every year dating back to the spring of 2019.
The hospital received 15 above average grades, two average grades and 11 grades below average grades. The hospital declined to report information in four different categories including; handwashing, staff working together to prevent errors, effective leadership to prevent errors and enough qualified nurses.
UW Health did not provide information to the Leapfrog Group, but says patient care remains a top priority.
“UW Health is committed to providing high quality healthcare to our community and is very proud to serve the people of northern Illinois,” said UW Health press secretary Emily Kumlien. “Our patient care is consistently recognized as remarkable and our commitment to quality and safety is unsurpassed.”
Javon Bea Hospital: D
The lowest-rated hospital in Rockford according to the Leapfrog Group was Javon Bea Hospital, which received a “D” grade.
The Leapfrog Group gave the hospital a “C” grade from 2019-2021.
Ladd Udy, vice president of Value-Based Care & Population Health for Mercyhealth Wisconsin and Illinois, says Mercyhealth does not submit data from Javon Bea Hospital to Leapfrog for this report.
“Mercyhealth does participate in other quality programs that provide us the proper guidance and oversight our patients deserve. Mercyhealth is confident those programs and other ongoing patient safety initiatives help achieve its status as a center of excellence,” Udy said in a statement.
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The Leapfrog Group says the majority of the information it used for both UW Health’s SwedishAmerican Hospital and Mercyhealth’s Javon Bea Hospital grade came from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Other Hospitals
The only hospital in the region to receive an “A” grade was Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb. Beloit Memorial Hospital received a “B” grade from the Leapfrog Group. FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport and Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon received “C” grades.
For more information on the hospital grades can be found on the Leapfrog Group’s website www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.
Andy Carrigan: [email protected], @AndyCarriganRRS