In North Carolina, 34 of 78 hospitals earned an A grade for hospital safety, but there were a few that earned Cs and Ds, according to a new survey released by The Leapfrog Group last month.
The grades for hospital safety are released every six months by the nonprofit organization. The grades that were released most recently showed that five states – OR, RI, HI, WI and ID – showed serious improvement in hospital safety in the last four years.
Many do not realize that in hospitals in North Carolina and across the country, medical errors and infections are the third leading cause of death in the United States. It is important for people to know which hospitals are the safest for themselves and their loved ones to receive treatment.
Leapfrog gives A-F grades to acute care hospitals across North Carolina and the US twice per year. The safety grade has 27 measures that are taken together so that a single letter grade is given for the hospital’s overall safety performance, including preventing them from harm and medical errors.
Top scoring hospitals for safety in North Carolina were:
- Carteret Health Care, Morehead City
- Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Washington
- Onslow Memorial Hospital, Jacksonville
- Vidant Duplin Hospital, Kenansville
- Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Bolivia
- Johnston Health, Smithfield
- Duke Raleigh Hospital, Raleigh
- Granville Medical Center, Oxford
- Rex Hospital, Inc., Raleigh
- WakeMed Cary Hospital, Cary
- Duke University Hospital, Durham
- University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill
- FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, Pinehurst
- Alamance Regional Medical Center, Burlington
- FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital, Rockingham
- Annie Penn Hospital, Reidsville
- Randolph Health, Asheboro
- Wesley Long Community, Greensboro
- High Point Regional UNC Health Care, High Point
- Carolinas Healthcare System Stanly, Albemarle
- Novant Health Medical Park Hospital, Winston-Salem
- Carolinas Healthcare System – NorthEast, Concord
- Northern Hospital of Surry County, Mount Airy
- Carolinas Healthcare System – Pineville, Charlotte
- Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, Elkin
- CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Gastonia
- Carolinas Healthcare System – Lincoln, Lincolnton
- Catawba Valley Medical Center, Hickory
- Carolinas Healthcare System – Kings Mountain, Kings Mountain
- Frye Regional Medical Center, Hickory
- Carolinas Healthcare System – Cleveland, Shelby
- Watauga Medical Center, Boone
- The McDowell Hospital, Inc., Marion
- Park Ridge Health, Hendersonville
The one hospital that received a D grade was Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, Elizabeth City, NC.
Our View
Our medical malpractice and medical error attorneys in North Carolina are pleased to see that many hospitals in the state receive high marks for safety. Medical mistakes and medical malpractice can lead to terrible health complications for many citizens of the state, such as this $425,000 settlement we handled for a gallbladder surgery error. Anything that can be done to publicize safe and less safe hospitals in the state should further safety in healthcare, which we are glad to see.
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