Every year, hospitals across the United States are graded on their record for patient safety by the federal government and a nonprofit organization, Leapfrog Group. The federal government uses a “star-based” rating system where hospitals receive a grade between one and five stars, with a one-star rating representing a hospital with serious and widespread safety problems. According to LoHud.com, New York had 48 one-star facilities in the state. Six of these unsafe hospitals were in the Hudson Valley.
Leapfrog Group focuses on more “preventable safety issues”, according to the local newspaper. The metrics used in Leapfrog’s calculations focus on the rate of “infections and medical mistakes, like sponges or tools left in bodies” or “complications such as collapsed lungs.” The nonprofit group assigns a letter grade to each major hospital in the country, which range from an “A” to an “F.” The researchers at Leapfrog point to a study by Johns Hopkins University that found 160,000 deaths each year are caused by “hospital-acquired” conditions – such as infections. Of the 30 hospitals receiving a “D” or “F” grade in New York, two are located in the Hudson Valley. According to Leapfrog, only 12 percent of hospitals nationwide receive a letter grade below “C”.
Here are the Hudson Valley hospitals with low rankings on patient safety, according to either the federal government or Leapfrog Group:
- Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern (1-star)
- Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley, Broadway Campus, in Kingston (1-star)
- MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center in Poughkeepsie (D)
- Montefiore Mount Vernon (1-star)
- St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers (1-star)
- Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie (1-star)
- Westchester Medical Center (1-star)
To learn more about the federal government’s safety ratings for hospitals, click here. Information about Leapfrog Group and their safety ratings can be viewed here.
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