How Do Florida Hospitals Score on the Spring 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades?

by Christa M. Carpenter, RN, Esq., and Eric P. Czelusta, Esq., BCS

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• Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is the only Tampa Bay Area hospital to earn a “D” on hospital safety grades in the latest roster of hospital grades

On May 15, 2019, the Leapfrog Group issued Hospital Safety Grades to hospitals across the U.S. You can search the Leapfrog database here for any hospital that was rated: https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/

The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that describes itself as “committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health system.” Since 2012, Leapfrog has released Safety Grades twice per year for over 2,600 hospitals across the U.S. The grades are based on national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, and other data sources. Leapfrog then takes those performance measures and computes a letter grade for a hospital’s overall performance which is supposed to measure how well the hospital keeps “patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.”

The Leapfrog Group has rated many hospitals in the Tampa Bay Area. Some notable hospitals in the area scored below average or well below average on important patient safety indicators, including the following areas highlighting Northside Hospital (St. Petersburg, FL); Bayfront Health St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, FL); and Tampa General Hospital.

• Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida: Leapfrog Grade C.
  • Surgical Site Infections after Colon Surgery: According to Leapfrog, this hospital had the “worst hospital score” for surgical site infections after colon surgery. An average rate of surgical site infection after colon surgery was reported by Leapfrog to be 0.86. Northside Hospital’s score was 3.067, more than four (4) times the average rate, according to Leapfrog data. The Leapfrog Grade for 2019 for this hospital also found that Northside Hospital had a higher than average hospital score for both blood infections and Clostridium Difficile infections.
  • Death from Treatable Complications Rate: Northside Hospital also a higher than average “death from treatable complications rate,” in that 181.96 patients died per every 1,000 surgical patients who developed a serious treatable complication after surgery. The average hospital’s score, according to Leapfrog, was 161.64.
  • Specially Trained Doctors Care for ICU Patients: Northside Hospital’s score was 5. The best hospital’s score was 100, with the average hospital’s score of 52.66.  The scoring is based on a scale of 1-100 with the hospital able to earn up to 100 points for staffing their ICUs with intensivists.
  • Comparison of Fall 2018 Grade to Fall 2019 Grade: In Fall 2018, Leapfrog grade B. Northside Hospital’s grade has fallen to a C for this spring of 2019.

Northside Hospital’s full scores can be viewed at: https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/h/northside-hospital-saint-petersburg-fl?findBy=city&city=st.+petersburg&state_prov=FL&rPos=500&rSort=distance

• Bayfront Health St. Petersburg: Leapfrog Grade D.
  • Death from Serious Treatable Complications: Bayfront also a higher than average “death from treatable complications rate,” in that 169.53 patients died per every 1,000 surgical patients who developed a serious treatable complication after surgery. The average hospital’s score, according to Leapfrog, was 161.64.
  • Dangerous Blood Clot: Bayfront had the “worst hospital score” of 7.32 times patients experienced dangerous blood clots per 1,000 people who had surgery. The average hospital’s score was 3.84.
  • Dangerous Bed Sores: Bayfront scored a 0.81, which is defined as the number of times patients experienced dangerous bedsores for every 1,000 patients discharged. The average hospital’s score was 0.38.
  • Specially Trained Doctors Care for ICU Patients: Bayfront’s score was 5. The best hospital’s score was 100, with the average hospital’s score of 52.66.  The scoring is based on a scale of 1-100 with the hospital able to earn up to 100 points for staffing their ICUs with intensivists.
  • Comparison of Fall 2018 Grade to Spring 2019 Grade: Fall 2018: C.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg’s full scores can be viewed at: https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/h/bayfront-health-st-petersburg?findBy=city&city=st.+petersburg&state_prov=FL&rPos=0&rSort=distance

• Tampa General Hospital: Leapfrog Grade C.
  • Dangerous Object Left in Patient’s Body: Tampa General Hospital’s score was 0.056 per every 1,000 patients discharged. The average hospital’s score was 0.021.
  • Death from Serious Treatable Complications: Tampa General Hospital’s score was the “worst hospital’s score” per Leapfrog, at 204.76. The average hospital’s score was 161.54 surgical patient deaths per every 1,000 people who had a serious treatable complication after surgery.
  • Track and Reduce Risks to Patients: Tampa General Hospital’s score was 36.36 on a point system of 1 to 100. The average hospital’s score was 97.24. The worst hospital’s score was 27.27.
  • Specially Trained Doctors Care for ICU Patients: Tampa General Hospital’s score was 5. The best hospital’s score was 100, with the average hospital’s score of 52.66.  The scoring is based on a scale of 1-100 with the hospital able to earn up to 100 points for staffing their ICUs with intensivists.
  • Comparison of Fall 2018 Grade to Spring 2019 Grade: Fall 2018: C.

Tampa General Hospital’s full scores can be viewed at: https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/h/tampa-general-hospital?findBy=zip&zip_code=33606&radius=50&rPos=300&rSort=distance

The remaining “C” and “D” grade hospitals in the state of Florida as rated by the Leapfrog Group for Spring 2019 are the following, with Tampa Bay Area hospitals in bold:

“C” Grade Hospitals

• Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, Aventura
• Baptist Health South Florida Baptist Hospital of Miami, Miami
• Bartow Regional Medical Center, Bartow
• Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System, Panama City
• Bayfront Health Port Charlotte, Port Charlotte
• Bayfront Health Punta Gorda, Punta Gorda
• Bethesda Hospital East, Boynton Beach
• Bethesda Hospital West, Boynton Beach
• Blake Medical Center, Bradenton
• Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Boca Raton
• Broward Health Coral Springs, Coral Springs
• Broward Health Imperial Point, Fort Lauderdale
• Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale
• Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach
• Capital Regional Medical Center, Tallahassee
• Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston
• Cleveland Clinic Martin South Hospital, Stuart
• Flagler Hospital, St. Augustine
• Florida Medical Center, Lauderdale Lakes
• Gulf Breeze Hospital, Gulf Breeze
• Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach
• Halifax Health Medical Center – Port Orange, Port Orange
• Highlands Regional Medical Center, Sebring
• Holmes Regional Medical Center, Melbourne
• Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami
• Jackson North Medical Center, North Miami Beach
• Jackson South Medical Center, Miami
• Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami
• Larkin Community Hospital, South Maimi
• Larkin Community Hospital – Palm Springs Campus, Hialeah
• Leesburg Regional Medical Center, Leesburg
• Manatee Memorial Hospital, Bradenton
• Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, New Port Richey
• NCH North Naples Hospital, Naples
• North Okaloosa Medical Center, Crestview
• North Shore Medical Center, Miami
• Ocala Regional Medical Center, Ocala
• Palm Bay Hospital, Palm Bay
• Plantation General Hospital, Plantation
• Rockledge Regional Medical Center, Rockledge
• South Florida Baptist Hospital, Plant City
• St. Anthony’s Hospital, St. Petersburg
• St. Joseph’s Hospital, Tampa
• St. Joseph’s Hospital – South, Riverview
• St. Joseph’s Hospital North, Lutz
• St. Mary’s Medical Center, West Palm Beach
• St. Petersburg General Hospital, St. Petersburg
• St. Vincent’s Medical Center Southside, Jacksonville
• UF Health Shands Hospital, The Villages
• UF Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville
• University Hospital and Medical Center, Tamarac
• Venice Regional Bayfront Health, Venice
• Westchester General Hospital, Miami
• Westside Regional Medical Center, Plantation
• Winter Haven Hospital, Winter Haven

“D” Grade Hospitals

• AdventHealth Ocala, Ocala
• JFK Medical Center, Atlantis
• Lake Wales Medical Center, Lake Wales
• Melbourne Regional Medical Center, Melbourne
• Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Tallahassee
• UF Health Jacksonville, Jacksonville

If you or a loved one has been injured by hospital malpractice, please give The Patient’s Law Firm, PA, a call at 727-281-4357. Attorneys Eric P. Czelusta, BCS, Esq., and Christa M. Carpenter, RN, Esq., will be happy to evaluate your case free of charge.