Infection, blood clots cited as safety concerns in southwestern Illinois hospitals

A national watchdog group recently scored some southwestern Illinois hospitals below average for safety metrics, including infections, patient falls and safe medication administration.

The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that provides ratings and safety data for hospitals and it recently released grades for nearly 3,000 hospitals across the country.

Out of the eight metro-east and St. Louis-area hospitals, two received lower grades compared to the fall and three saw improved performance.

Seven of the eight hospitals scored below average for handwashing, one of the metrics Leapfrog considers most important.

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese received the worst score given to any hospital for C. diff infections, and OSF Saint Anthony’s got the lowest score for preventing urinary tract infections.

Metro-east hospitals are not the only facilities to struggle with infection rates. Across the U.S., Leapfrog reported a “dramatic spike” of health care-associated infections and worsening patient experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that continues in the latest grades.

“The dramatic spike in HAIs reported in this Safety Grade cycle should stop hospitals in their tracks —infections like these can be life or death for some patients,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group wrote in a May 3 statement. “We recognize the tremendous strain the pandemic put on hospitals and their workforce, but alarming findings like these indicate hospitals must recommit to patient safety and build more resilience.”

Leapfrog compared infection data from late 2021 and 2022 (this spring’s grades) to the 2021 safety grades (which covered the period immediately before the pandemic) and found:

• A 60% spike in the average central line-associated bloodstream standard infection ratio

• A 37% increase in the average methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, standard infection ratio

• A 19% increase in the average catheter-associated urinary tract standard infection ratio

The standard infection ratio compares the actual number of health care-associated infections to the predicted number of infections.

Health care-associated infections are among the leading causes of death in the U.S., according to Leapfrog.

“Although MRSA, CLABSI and CAUTI worsened, Clostridioides difficile (C. Diff) improved 15% from spring 2021 to spring 2023 and there was not a significant change for surgical site infections following surgery,” Leapfrog’s press release read.

Here’s how metro-east hospitals performed in Leapfrog’s grading, plus how to interpret ratings and which areas should be most heavily considered.

What to know:

• Memorial Hospital Belleville
• HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon
• HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese
• Gateway Regional Medical Center
• Anderson Hospital
• OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton
• SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia
• South City Hospital
• How are hospital grades calculated?

Memorial Hospital Belleville

Spring 2023 grade: B

Fall 2022 grade: A

Spring 2022 grade: C

Here are the areas in which Memorial Hospital Belleville scored below average this spring:

• MRSA infection

• Infection in the blood

• Infection in the urinary tract

• Surgical site infection after colon surgery

• Death from serious treatable complications

• Patient falls and injuries

• Collapsed lung

• Falls causing broken hips

• Safe medication administration

• Handwashing (Memorial Hospital Belleville received a 57 out of 100 in this category; the average was 71.64.)

Memorial Hospital Belleville declined to report metrics for the following categories, according to Leapfrog:

• Staff work together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

• Specially trained doctors care for intensive care unit patients

“Memorial Hospital Belleville and BJC HealthCare are committed to patient safety. We support efforts to make quality outcomes data available to patients and to the public. We encourage people to seek out data on Medicare’s Care Compare site and we are committed to transparency by providing links to this information on the BJC website,” spokesperson Laura High wrote on behalf of BJC HealthCare in an emailed statement to the News-Democrat.

“The Leapfrog analysis is based on a methodology that is a composite of process and outcome measures. Some of the process data that drives the survey results are obtained directly from hospitals’ responses to a self-reported survey. Although Leapfrog has made recent changes to rely less on their survey, we still have concerns about relying on methodologies that utilize self-reporting on questionnaires, which carry a significant impact in the overall results. For these reasons, BJC HealthCare hospitals have never participated in the Leapfrog survey.”

“We believe our approach – based on methodical study and careful ongoing evaluation of outcomes – is a more effective means of improving patient safety and that our rigorous discipline and process over the years has made a significant impact on improving quality of care. Memorial Hospital Belleville is committed to providing the highest standard of care every day for every patient.”

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon

Spring 2023 grade: A

Fall 2022 grade: A

Spring 2022 grade: A

Here are the areas where HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital scored below average this spring:

• MRSA infection

• Surgical wounds split open

• Blood leakage

• Serious breathing problem

• Falls causing broken hips

• Collapsed lung

• Dangerous blood clot

• Safe medication administration (HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital received a 75 out of 100 in this category; the average was 91.22.)

• Handwashing (HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital received a 40 out of 100 in this category.)

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital declined to report the following metrics, Leapfrog says:

• Staff work together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese

Spring 2023 grade: B

Fall 2022 grade: C

Spring 2022 grade: B

Here are the areas where HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital scored below average this spring:

• C. diff infection (HSHS St. Joseph’s received the worst score given to any hospital in this category.)

• Doctors order medications through a computer

• Safe medication administration

• Handwashing (HSHS St. Joseph’s received a 57 out of 100 in this category.)

HSHS St. Joseph’s declined to report the following metrics, according to Leapfrog:

• Staff worked together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients

“Our commitment to patient safety is a top priority. Our safety grade achievements are a testament to the high-level of quality care provided to our patients and the dedication of our care teams to ongoing safety improvement processes,” Dr. Dennis Szurkus Jr., chief medical officer at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, wrote in an emailed statement to the News-Democrat. “I am so proud of our colleagues and medical staff for their outstanding performance.”

Gateway Regional Medical Center

Spring 2023 grade: D

Fall 2022 grade: D

Spring 2022 grade: D

Here are the areas where Gateway Regional Medical Center scored below average this spring:

• Infection in the urinary tract

• Sepsis infection after surgery

• Patient falls and injuries

• Collapsed lung

• Safe medication administration (Leapfrog gave Gateway Regional Medical Center a 50 out of 100 in this category; the average was 91.22.)

• Handwashing (Gateway Regional Medical Center received a 40 out of 100 in this category.)

• Communication about medicines

• Communication about discharge

• Staff work together to prevent errors (Gateway Regional Medical Center received a 0 out of 120 in this category.)

• Effective leadership to prevent errors (Gateway Regional Medical Center received a 27.69 out of 120 in this category.)

• Enough qualified nurses (Gateway Regional Medical Center received a 5.88 out of 100 in this category.)

• Communication with doctors

• Communication with nurses

• Responsiveness of hospital staff

Gateway Regional Medical Center officials were not immediately available for comment.

Anderson Hospital

Spring 2023 grade: B

Fall 2022 grade: C

Spring 2022 grade: C

Here are the areas where Anderson Hospital scored below average this spring:

• Infection in the blood

• Sepsis infection after surgery

• Accidental cuts and tears

• Collapsed lung

• Doctors order medications through a computer

• Safe medication administration

• Handwashing (Anderson Hospital received a 57 out of 100.)

• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients (Anderson Hospital received a 5 out of 100 in this category, the lowest score given to any hospital.)

Anderson Hospital declined to report these metrics, according to Leapfrog:

• Staff work together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

“Leapfrog is an independent organization that collects and reports one-of-a-kind data. There are many similar organizations, all using public information with differing methodologies,” Anderson Hospital spokesperson Natalie Head wrote in an email to the News-Democrat.

“For the 2nd year in a row, Anderson Hospital ranked in the top 6% of hospitals in the United States through another independent study done by Newsweek. In 2021, Anderson Hospital was the only hospital in southwestern Illinois to earn a 5 Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The annual CMS stars program serves as a healthcare guide to hospital quality, comprising more than 50 individual measures that include safety of care, readmissions, patient experience, hospital mortality and timely and effective care.”

“Anderson Hospital participates in reporting quality information so it is available to the public. Links to national and state programs and organizations that provide these reports are readily available on our Quality page on our website.”

OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton

Spring 2023 grade: C

Fall 2022 grade: C

Spring 2022 grade: B

Here are the areas where OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center scored below average this spring:

• C. diff infection

• Infection in the blood

• Infection in the urinary tract (OSF Saint Anthony’s received the worst score given to any hospital in this category.)

• Sepsis infection after surgery

• Kidney injury after surgery

• Serious breathing problem

• Harmful events

• Dangerous bed sores

• Dangerous blood clot

• Safe medication administration

• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients

“OSF HealthCare works hard to provide the highest level of care. We know there is more work to be done at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center, and we are committed to finding ways to improve safety and quality of care. We support the transparency about quality and safety that the Leapfrog grades provide,” Jerry Rumph, president of OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center, wrote in an emailed statement to the News-Democrat.

SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia

Spring 2023 grade: B

Fall 2022 grade: A

Spring 2022 grade: A

Here are the areas in which SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital scored below average this spring:

• Patient falls and injuries

• Dangerous blood clot

• Handwashing (SSM Health St. Mary’s received a 50 out of 100 in this category.)

• Responsiveness of hospital staff

SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital declined to report the following metrics, according to Leapfrog:

• Staff work together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

“SSM Health Southern Illinois is committed to providing safe, quality care to our patients and communities. SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital provides exceptional care to patients and their families. We continue to be vigilant for opportunities for improvement,” John A. Kohler, region chief medical officer and president of SSM Health Medical Group in southern Illinois, wrote in an emailed statement to the News-Democrat.

South City Hospital

Spring 2023 grade: C

Fall 2022 grade: D

Spring 2022 grade: Not graded

Here are the areas in which South City Hospital scored below average this spring:

• Harmful events

• Dangerous bed sores

• Doctors order medications through a computer (South City Hospital scored a 90 out of 100 in this category, just below the 91.77 average.)

• Safe medication administration

• Handwashing

• Communication about medicines (South City Hospital scored a 73 in this category. The average was 74.21.)

• Communication about discharge

• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients (South City Hospital scored a 5 out of 100 in this category, the worst score given to any hospital.)

• Communication with doctors

• Communication with nurses

• Responsiveness of hospital staff

South City Hospital declined to report the following metrics, Leapfrog says:

• Staff work together to prevent errors

• Effective leadership to prevent errors

• Enough qualified nurses

South City Hospital officials were not immediately available for comment.

How are hospital grades calculated?

Safety grades are calculated using more than 30 national safety measures from the Leapfrog survey, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other data sources. The full methodology is available online and is peer-reviewed by the Journal of Patient Safety.

Grades are composed 50% by process and structural measures and 50% by outcome measures. The scoring scales differ by the chosen measure.

Across the U.S., 29% of hospitals received an “A,” 26% received a “B,” 39% received a “C,” 6% received a “D” and less than 1% received an “F” in the spring 2023 ratings.

How should you use these scores?

Leapfrog emphasizes you should not refuse emergency care based on hospital ratings. The group intends the scores to be used when planning things like childbirth, surgery referrals or chronic illness treatment.

The areas you should pay most attention to when choosing a hospital include handwashing, infection in the blood and patient falls, Leapfrog’s website says.

You should also consider how far off your hospital was from the average for any given standard. When evaluating a hospital, you can see the highest and lowest scores given, which helps in weighing a value. The “below average” category can include hospitals that scored 0.01 points under goal, along with facilities with the lowest possible score.

For hospitals that responded to Leapfrog’s survey, there’s often information available about which areas the hospital has improved in and which areas are not going in the right direction.

A hospital being ungraded does not denote a lack of safety. Ratings are often unavailable for facilities that decline to self-report, as well as smaller providers, children’s hospitals, surgical centers and critical access hospitals.

Where can you find more hospital safety ratings?

Leapfrog allows you to search for hospitals by name, location or state. There’s an online search tool where you can find information about more hospitals.

This story may be updated.