Stafford Hospital was the only hospital in the Fredericksburg area to receive a top score in a recent national measure of patient safety.
The facility was given an “A” rating in the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grades, which were announced Friday. Mary Washington Hospital and Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center received “C” grades.
The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit focused on patient safety, evaluated nearly 3,000 hospitals on their ability to prevent medical errors, accidents and infections. Its system uses up to 30 performance measures to assign letter grades to hospitals.
The safety grades make up the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventing medical errors and patient harm, the Leapfrog group said. It is free to the public and updated biannually in the fall and spring.
Stafford Hospital improved from its most recent grade of “B” in the spring. It was given “better than average” marks for measures such as safe medication administration, handwashing, effective leadership to prevent errors, and nursing and bedside care for patients.
Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg stepped up from its most recent grade of “D” in the spring. However, the operation was given “worse than average” marks on criteria such as death from treatable serious complications, Sepsis infection after surgery, surgical wound splits open, communication about medicines, and responsiveness of hospital staff.
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center maintained the “C” grade it got in the spring. It received “worse than average” ratings on MRSA infection, falls causing broken hips, handwashing, effective leadership to prevent errors, and responsiveness of hospital staff.
For fall 2024, Virginia had the second-highest percentage of “A” hospitals following Utah, which had the highest percentage.
The latest grades show hospitals are making progress in patient safety across several performance measures, the Leapfrog Group said.
The Leapfrog Group says it aims to serve as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, driving a movement for giant “leaps” for patient safety. Its safety grade initiative began in 2012. For more information, see hospitalsafetygrade.org.
The Free Press discloses that Mary Washington Healthcare, an individual or organization central to this story, is a major donor to the Free Press. Donors do not exercise influence over newsroom operations.
