11 MD hospitals earn ‘A’ rating on new safety ratings: See the full list

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit healthcare watchdog group that rates hospitals twice a year, assigns letter grades from “A” to “F” to 3,000 general hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents and infections.

In general, hospitals have made great strides since the pandemic years, when the risk of contracting fatal infections was elevated nationwide, but more work needs to be done, the Leapfrog Group said in a press release.

A total of 26.8% of Maryland’s 41 hospitals received an “A.” That’s the 30th best rate in the country.

Overall, Maryland had:

• 15 hospitals that received “B” grades;
• 15 hospitals that received “C” grades; and
• No hospitals earned “D” or “F” grades.

Here are the grades each hospital received:

• A: Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis)
• A: MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital (Baltimore)
• A: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Bethesda)
• A: ChristianaCare – Union Hospital (Elkton)
• A: Meritus Medical Center (Hagerstown)
• A: University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center (La Plata)
• A: MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital (Leonardtown)
• A: Garrett Regional Medical Center (Oakland)
• A: TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, Inc. (Salisbury)
• A: Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center (Silver Spring)
• A: University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center (Towson)
• B: Mercy Medical Center (Baltimore)
• B: Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)
• B: MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center (Baltimore)
• B: MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (Baltimore)
• B: MedStar Harbor Hospital (Baltimore)
• B: Atlantic General Hospital (Berlin)
• B: UPMC Western Maryland (Cumberland)
• B: University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton (Easton)
• B: Adventist Health Care Fort Washington Medical Center (Fort Washington)
• B: UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center (Glen Burnie)
• B: MedStar Montgomery Medical Center (Olney)
• B: CalvertHealth Medical Center (Prince Frederick)
• B: Northwest Hospital (Randallstown)
• B: Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center (Rockville)
• B: Greater Baltimore Medical Center (Towson)
• C: University of Maryland Medical Center (Baltimore)
• C: Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital (Baltimore)
• C: Sinai Hospital in Baltimore (Baltimore)
• C: Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (Baltimore)
• C: University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus (Baltimore)
• C: University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center (Bel Air)
• C: Suburban Hospital (Bethesda)
• C: MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center (Clinton)
• C: Johns Hopkins Howard County General Hospital (Columbia)
• C: Frederick Health Hospital (Frederick)
• C: Holy Cross Germantown Hospital (Germantown)
• C: Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center (Lanham)
• C: Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring)
• C: University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center (Upper Marlboro)
• C: Carroll Hospital Center (Westminster)

Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore was not scored because it is a children’s facility. The University of Maryland Shore Medical Center in Chestertown was not rated because it lacked data.

For the third rating cycle, Utah tops the list with the highest percentage of “A” hospitals, followed by Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado and South Carolina, respectively. California ranked in the top 10 for the first time since fall 2014.

The Fall 2024 assessments show improvements in patient safety across multiple performance measures, including notable improvements in healthcare-associated infections, hand hygiene and medication safety. Preventable deaths and injuries in hospitals have long been a major policy focus for The Leapfrog Group.

While noting the gains hospitals have made in patient safety have saved “countless lives,” Leapfrog Group President and CEO Leah Binder said in a news release that medical centers nationwide need to accelerate their progress “because no one has to die of a preventable error in a hospital.”

Binder said significant variation in performance continues across U.S. hospitals. For example, four states—Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont—had no “A” hospitals.

“That’s why it’s so important for people to consult grades when making decisions about seeking care,” Binder said. “All hospitals are not the same.”

Nationally, healthcare-acquired infections reached their highest peak since 2016 in the fall of 2022 safety grades, but they have since declined dramatically, according to the report.

In addition, central line-associated bloodstream infections decreased by 38 percent, catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased by 36 percent, and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections decreased by 34 percent.