61 larger Ky. hospitals get mostly Cs in national patient-safety ratings, and one gets an F; raters warn infection rates remain high

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Most of the Kentucky hospitals graded on a nonprofit group’s twice-a-year report card for patient safety again got a C.

The Leapfrog Group, based in Washington, D.C., rates nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals based on how well they protect patients. Most of Kentucky’s 126 hospitals are relatively small, so they are not rated by Leapfrog; it rates 61 Kentucky hospitals.

The group does not grade small hospitals with “critical access” status because they don’t have to report quality measures to the federal government; nor does it grade specialty hospitals, government hospitals, or hospitals that don’t have enough publicly reported data.

Leapfrog gave A ratings to four Kentucky hospitals; Kentucky’s percentage of A grades, 6.6%, ranked it 46th among states. That was down 10 slots from the last report, when it ranked 36th. Leapfrog gave Bs to 15 Kentucky hospitals, Cs to 31, Ds to 10 and an F to one, in Hazard.

The grades are based on more than 30 measures that indicate how well hospitals protect patients from preventable errors, injuries, accidents and infections, and whether hospitals have systems in place to prevent them.

A Leapfrog press release draws attention to a significant national increase in healthcare-associated infections, reporting that the average risk of three HAIs – Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) – remain high after spiking to a five-year high in hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Comparing infection data from late 2021 and 2022 to the safety grades reported in 2021, which covered the period immediately before the pandemic, Leapfrog’s analysis found that CLABSI increased 60%, MRSA infections increased 37%, and CAUTI rose 19%.

“The dramatic spike in HAIs reported in this Safety Grade cycle should stop hospitals in their track. Infections like these can be life or death for some patients,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in the release. “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.”

The Leapfrog site offers details on the measures for each hospital under the heading Infections. It also provides detailed information under headings titled Problems with Surgery, Practices to Prevent Errors, Safety Problems, and Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff. The information is provided in an easy-to-read, color-coded scale that indicates how the hospital is performing.

The report uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Leapfrog’s own survey and other supplemental data sources. Leapfrog says hospitals are only graded if they have submitted adequate data for evaluation.

Top Scores

Hospitals getting As were Baptist Health Lexington, Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester, The Medical Center at Bowling Green, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare-Ft. Thomas.

The Bowling Green hospital moved up to an A after getting Cs on the last 14 reports.

Baptist Health Lexington has received an A grade for 11 consecutive grading periods. Clark Regional maintained its A for two consecutive grading periods and St. Elizabeth Healthcare-Ft. Thomas has maintained its grade for three reporting periods.