New York Hospitals Continue to Rank Poorly for Patient Safety

New York hospitals continue to rank poorly compared to the rest of the country, according to the nonprofit LeapFrog’s rankings released last month. According to Washington D.C. organization, which ranks hospitals on 12 factors related to patient safety and then assigns a letter grade between A and F to each hospital, New York is the 47th worst state for patient safety at hospitals. Just 7.5 percent of New York hospitals received an “A” – a pathetically low percentage compared to states like Maine, Utah and Virginia, which received “A” at 50 to 60 percent of their hospitals. 

The Empire State has almost three times as many hospitals with a “D” rating (30) than an “A” rating (11), according to LoHud.com. Unlike the federal government which takes medical outcomes and other indicators of quality into account when assigning its maligned star-rating system, Leapfrog Group focuses on preventable safety issues. Examples include mistakes like leaving sponges or medical equipment in bodies or preventable infections caused by unsanitary conditions. The nonprofit told Lohud.Com that its ranking system provided more helpful information to patients “because it focuses on the most serious life-or-death measures.” 

Here are the patient safety rankings for hospitals in the Hudson Valley, published for Fall 2019: 

• Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck: A
• Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel: A
• White Plains Hospital: A
• Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley, Broadway Campus, in Kingston: C
• Montefiore New Rochelle: C
• Montefiore Nyack Hospital: C
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt Manor: C
• NewYork-Presbyterian (Lawrence) Hospital in Bronxville: C
• Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco: C
• Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow: C
• St. John’s Riverside in Yonkers: C 
• St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers: C
• Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie: C
• MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center in Poughkeepsie: D
• St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh: D
• Westchester Medical Center: D

Contact our medical malpractice attorneys to discuss your potential case.