In a recent article by USA Today, hospitals all over the country have scored somewhat poorly.
The grades are distributed by Leapfrog, a watchdog organization that was started by employers and unions that wanted more public information about patient safety and quality.
Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rate about 90% of hospitals in the U.S. as “average”, Leapfrog has a far stricter grading system and has the only grading system that gives out anything equivalent to a D or an F.
The grades factor in medical errors, infections and injures, based on patient responses on surveys, data provided by the CMS, the American Hospital Association and any information given voluntarily to Leapfrog.
So, how are Georgia’s hospitals faring on Leapfrog’s grading scale?
A cursory glance shows that none of our hospitals have received an F, which is great news. According to their list, Georgia’s hospitals are averaging at C’s, which is not the worst news in the world.
Here is the full list provided by Leapfrog’s website:
- Atlanta Medical Center: 303 Parkway Dr. NW Atlanta | D
- Atlanta Medical Center South Campus: 1170 Cleveland Ave. East Point | C
- Cartersville Medical Center: 960 Joe Frank Harris Pkwy Cartersville | A
- DeKalb Medical Center: 2701 N. Decatur Rd. Decatur | C
- DeKalb Medical at Hillandale: 2801 DeKalb Medical Pkwy Lithonia | D
- Eastside Medical Center: 1700 Medical Way Snellville | B
- Emory University Hospital Midtown: 550 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta | D
- Emory University Hospital: 1364 Clifton Rd. NW Atlanta | B
- Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital: 5665 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd NE Atlanta | C
- Emory Johns Creek Hospital: 6325 Hospital Pkwy Johns Creek | C
- Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation: 80 Jesse Hill Jr., Dr. SE Atlanta | C
- Gwinnett Medical Center: 3620 Howell Ferry Rd. Duluth | C
- Gwinnett Medical Center: 1000 Medical Center Blvd Lawrenceville | C
- Northside Hospital: 1000 Johnson Ferry Rd. NE Atlanta | B
- Northside Hospital Cherokee: 201 Hospital Rd. Canton | B
- Northside Forsyth Hospital: 1200 Northside Forsyth Dr. Cumming | C
- North Fulton Hospital: 3000 Hospital Blvd Roswell | C
- Piedmont Hospital: 1968 Peachtree Rd. NW Atlanta | C
- Piedmont Henry Hospital: 1133 Eagle’s Landing Pkwy Stockbridge | B
- Piedmont Fayette Hospital: 1255 Highway 54 W. Fayetteville | A
- Piedmont Newton Hospital: 5126 Hospital Dr. Covington | B
- Piedmont Newnan Hospital: 745 Poplar Rd. Newnan | A
- Rockdale Medical Center: 1412 Milstead Ave. NE Conyers | C
- Southern Regional Medical Center: 11 Upper Riverdale Rd. SW Riverdale | C
- Tanner Medical Center: 601 Dallas Hwy Villa Rica | A
- Wellstar Kennestone Hospital: 677 Church St. Marietta | B
- Wellstar Cobb Hospital: 3950 Austell Rd. Austell | B
- Wellstar Douglas Hospital: 8954 Hospital Dr. Douglasville | A
- Wellstar Paulding Hospital: 2518 Jimmy Lee Smith Pkwy Hiram | A
- Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital: 601 S. Eighth St. Griffin | C
The three hospitals that received a D had specific reasons as to why they were graded more low compared to other hospitals in Georgia. There are five categories that determine the overall grade for the hospitals: Infections, Problems with Surgery, Practices to Prevent Errors, Safety Problems and Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff.
Atlanta Medical Center 303 Parkway Dr.
This particular hospital did not do well with preventative measures when it comes to infection within the facility as well as having a low score with treating post-opt patients. The one thing that this hospital scored particularly low on was their staff.
When asked to comment, Atlanta Medical Center referred us to the Georgia Hospital Association, which did not comment on the specific problems mentioned, but told us that hospitals across the state have made great progress improving patient safety.
Earl Rogers, President and CEO of the Georgia Hospital Association, wrote:
“Hospitals are leaders in transparency with regard to quality measurement and have shared safety and quality data with the public for more than a decade. When making health care decisions, patients should use all available tools at their disposal such as talking with friends and family and consulting with doctors, nurses and other health care providers.”
Emory University Hospital Midtown 550 Peachtree St.
Emory University Hospital at the Midtown location pretty scored terribly in all five categories and actually declined to report on several criteria such as how effective their leadership was to prevent errors or how many qualified nurses they had on staff.
Emory Healthcare said in an email that studies like this one can be helpful tools in identifying needed improvements, but they questioned the validity and accuracy of the Leapfrog surveys.
DeKalb Medical at Hillandale 2801 DeKalb Medical Pkwy
Just as the aforementioned hospitals that received D's, DeKalb Medical fared the worst in hospital staff manners and proper practice to prevent errors.
If you want a more detailed description of each hospital’s score, you can visit their website. You can also look up specific hospitals by city and state.
Emory Health Care emailed us within the past couple of hours to say that studies like this one can be helpful tools in identifying needed improvements. But Emory questions the validity and accuracy of the Leapfrog surveys.
