Handwashing, bed sores lead concerns at Mount Nittany Medical Center, watchdog reports

Matt DiSanto
·6 min read

A national watchdog group recently scored Centre County’s only hospital below average in several safety metrics, including safe medication administration and handwashing.

These rankings and more were compiled in a newly released report by The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that biannually publishes ratings and safety data for more than 3,000 hospitals across the U.S. This spring’s report gave Mount Nittany Medical Center a “B” overall — the same mark it received last fall.

Here’s what you need to know about the hospital’s performance in Leapfrog’s grading, plus how these rankings are made and what they mean for you.

Mount Nittany Medical Center

Spring 2023 grade: B

Fall 2022 grade: B

Spring 2022 grade: C

Here are the areas in which Mount Nittany Medical Center received below-average marks this spring:

  • C. diff infection

  • Infection in the urinary tract

  • Surgical site infection after colon surgery

  • Sepsis infection after surgery

  • Death from serious treatable complications

  • Blood leakage

  • Dangerous bed sores

  • Collapsed lung

  • Dangerous blood clot

  • Doctors order medications through a computer

  • Safe medication administration

  • Handwashing

  • Specially trained doctors care for intensive care unit patients

According to Leapfrog, Mount Nittany Medical Center declined to report metrics for the following categories:

  • Staff work together to prevent errors

  • Effective leadership to prevent errors

  • Enough qualified nurses

While hospital officials did not specifically comment on Leapfrog’s most recent report, Mount Nittany Health, the medical center’s overarching health network, said it remains focused on prioritizing patient safety and care.

“As the leading provider of primary and specialty care in our community, Mount Nittany Health is committed to the highest safety standards,” Dr. Nirmal Joshi, Mount Nittany Health’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “We are proud to have a proven track record of providing compassionate care to patients in the Centre region.”

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Other hospitals near Centre County

Five other hospitals sit within roughly 50 miles of State College, though none call Centre County home. Here’s a quick overview of their grades in Leapfrog’s spring report:

  • Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, located at 400 Highland Ave. in Lewistown, received an overall “A” grade. The hospital received below-average marks in four categories: MRSA infection, infection of the urinary tract, dangerous blood clot and handwashing.

  • Penn Highlands Huntingdon, located at 1225 Warm Springs Ave. in Huntingdon, received an overall “C” grade for the fifth straight report. The hospital received below-average marks in a handful of fields: doctors order medications through a computer, safe medication administration, handwashing, communication about discharge, specially trained doctors care for ICU patients and communication with doctors. Additionally, six categories did not have data available, according to Leapfrog’s report.

  • UPMC Altoona, located at 620 Howard Ave. in Altoona, received an overall “A” grade. The hospital received below-average marks in 10 categories: C. diff infection, infection of the urinary tract, surgical wound splits open, death from serious treatable complications, kidney injury after surgery, collapsed lung, handwashing, communication about medicines, communication with doctors and responsiveness of hospital staff.

  • Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, located at 105 Nason Drive in Roaring Spring, received an overall “B” grade. The hospital received above-average marks for handwashing, but produced below-average metrics for the following categories: C. diff infection, safe medication administration, communication about discharge and specially trained doctors care for ICU patients. Grades for five other categories were not available.

In a statement, a Penn Highlands Healthcare spokesperson said the health network’s Huntingdon hospital believes its low score in Leapfrog’s spring is, in part, due to a lack of participation in the most recent survey.

“Penn Highlands Huntingdon did not submit the Leapfrog survey questionnaire, which is likely the reason for the low score this period,” system communications manager Corinne G. Laboon said in an email. “Penn Highlands Healthcare submits all required quality and safety data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other like agencies. However, at this time, we chose to suspend data submission to optional agencies, such as Leapfrog, until we effectively streamline the submission process for data across all facilities in our growing health system.”

Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, UPMC Altoona and Conemaugh Nason Medical Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the rankings and safety grades included within the Leapfrog Group’s spring report.

Penn Highlands Clearfield, which sits within approximately 50 miles of State College, was not graded in Leapfrog’s spring report.

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How are hospital grades calculated?

Twice a year, Leapfrog assigns grades to hospitals across the country using up to 30 performance measures from several sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Leapfrog says its methodology is peer-reviewed and regularly published in the Journal of Patient Safety.

Leapfrog’s scoring methodology is developed by a panel of patient safety experts from across the country, the organization says. Each measure is weighted differently to account for impact and opportunity for improvement.

This spring, roughly 29% of hospitals in the survey received an “A” grade. About 26% received a “B,” while 39% received a “C,” 6% received a “D” and less than 1% received an “F.”

The 10 states with the highest percentage of “A”-graded hospitals were New Jersey, Idaho, Utah, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Virginia and Massachusetts. Delaware, North Dakota and the District of Columbia’s hospitals did not receive any “A” grades.

This spring’s grades continued a trend that includes a “dramatic spike” in health care-associated infections and worsening patient experiences, according to Leah Binder, the president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. Among these indicators was a 60% spike in the average central line-associated bloodstream standard infection ratio between pre- and post-pandemic reports.

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How should you use these scores?

On its website, Leapfrog says its grades should not be used to refuse care from nearby hospitals when treatment is necessary.

“You should never refuse care in an emergency because of a hospital’s Safety Grade, but use [them] as a guide for planned events and a research tool for potential emergencies,” the organization wrote online.

Generally speaking, hospitals that receive higher marks do a better job of preventing errors. The organization says the most important metrics in its reports are handwashing, infection in the blood and patient falls.

When evaluating hospital grades, take a look at how far each facility departed from the average for any given standard. Through Leapfrog’s report, you can see the highest and lowest scores for each category, plus average figures. It’s important to remember a hospital’s grade for a category can be considered “below average” even if it falls just 0.01 points under its respective goal.

Additionally, a lack of a safety grade entirely should not immediately be a red flag, Leapfrog says. Some hospitals — including specialty facilities or critical-access hospitals — are not required to publicly record safety information, potentially stopping Leapfrog from assigning a grade.

You can use Leapfrog’s online search tool, available at hospitalsafetygrade.org, to search for hospitals by name, location or state.