3 Sarasota County hospitals earn A grades in latest Leapfrog Group report card

Sarasota Memorial Hospital, HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital and HCA Florida Englewood Hospital all earned A grades in the Leapfrog Group’s fall safety report cards released Wednesday.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital and HCA Florida Englewood Hospital continued streaks of consecutive A grades, while Doctors Hospital regained A status after earning a B in the spring safety report card, which reflected data from 2021.

“The past two years have been the most challenging in health care,” Robert Meade, CEO of HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital, said in a prepared statement. “Even with the COVID-19 pandemic and a local hospital closing we have remained committed to serving this community. Our caregivers continue to show up for our patients, each other and put our patients and safety first.”

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder, echoed those thoughts on the COVID-19 period in a prepared statement, though SMH is the only hospital in the region that has maintained a straight-A streak since 2016.

Related: Leapfrog Group report card reflects impact of COVID-19 on health care

“The past three years have been very challenging, with the pandemic, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and Hurricane Ian, which impacted so many people in our region, but through every challenge and obstacle, our physicians and staff demonstrated their resourcefulness, resiliency and unwavering dedication to care for this community,” Verinder said. “This award is a reflection of their commitment, quality service and personal sacrifice.”

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The Sarasota Memorial Hospital Venice campus, which opened last November, is not yet eligible to participate in the Leapfrog rankings.

ShorePoint Health Venice, which closed in September, earned a B after earning consecutive A grades.

10 years of grading

The nonprofit Leapfrog Group marked its 10th anniversary with this release.

Two times a year, it scores hospitals on how well they keep patients safe from medical errors, infections, accidents, and other harm to patients in their care.

It gives “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” letter grades to hospitals across the country on more than 30 different performance measures, including rates of injuries, accidents, infections and systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm and medical errors.

This term, 30% of hospitals received an "A," 28% received a "B," 36% received a "C," 6% received a "D," and 1% received an "F.”

The top 10 states with the highest percentages of "A" hospitals are Colorado, Florida, Idaho, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Utah.

The latest grades offer a continuing look at the impact of COVID-19 on patient safety in nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide.

The Leapfrog grading system is peer-reviewed and free to the public, so they can choose the safest hospitals for their care.

To view the fall 2022 result, visit https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

Many of the hospitals that received lower scores during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have rebounded.

In Manatee County, HCA Florida Blake Hospital regained a B grade, after slipping to a C in the spring rankings.

“We continue to make significant improvements and move in a positive direction,” Steve Nierman, CEO of HCA Florida Blake Hospital, said in a prepared statement. “We provide unique services to Manatee County and the surrounding areas like trauma, burn, specialized cardiology, and women’s services.

“I am proud of our team of caregivers for focusing on quality and safety so that our patients don’t have to travel far from home to get great care.”

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center maintained its B grade from the spring; it earned an A in the fall of 2021.

Manatee Memorial Hospital maintained its C grade from the spring compared to a B in the fall of 2021.

DeSoto Memorial Hospital earned a B grade. It declined to respond in the spring of 2022 but had earned an A grade in the fall of 2021.

In Charlotte County, HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital maintained the B grade it earned in the spring. Shore Point Health Port Charlotte improved from a C to a B. It also earned a B in the fall of 2021.

Shore Point Health Punta Gorda maintained a C grade.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a prepared statement: “I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency.

“An ‘A’ safety grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance, so that they can best protect patients. Your hospital team should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”

While SMH can count its streak back to 2016, Englewood Hospital has amassed an impressive streak of 21 straight A grades.

“Twenty-one consecutive “A” grades is an amazing distinction to achieve,” Englewood CEO  Steve Young said in a prepared statement. “Time and time again, our caregivers show up for our patients with a commitment to providing top-quality, patient-centered care.

“Every member of our team contributes to our strong culture of safety and we are continuously learning, monitoring and addressing areas of improvement,” he added.

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Leapfrog report card shows safest hospitals in Sarasota, Manatee