How safe are Louisville hospitals? Here's a look at how 11 area hospitals ranked
Ever wonder where you might receive the best hospital care in Louisville? Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization focused on advocating for hospital safety and transparency, recently graded the area's hospitals on a variety of safety measures.
Of the 11 metro area hospitals that received grades this fall, five earned an "A," including all the Louisville-based health care giant Norton Healthcare hospitals.
"This 'A' ranking at our hospitals is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated providers and employees, who consistently strive to deliver safe, high-quality care to our patients,” Russell Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare, told the Courier Journal. “In addition, numerous others throughout the organization provide essential support and resources to our providers and caregivers.”
Baptist Health La Grange also received an "A," but other area locations did not score as high, with Baptist Health Louisville scoring a "B" and Baptist Health Floyd, across the river in Southern Indiana, earning a "C." Jackie Gisch, the vice president of safety, quality and patient experience at Baptist Health, said the organization is "committed to quality and patient safety," noting that each day at the hospitals begins with a safety huddle.
"It is difficult to know how much weight to give various quality ratings for health care providers," Gisch said. "For example, some of the data used by Leapfrog to calculate hospital grades dates back to 2019 and may not reflect more recent performance improvement efforts. We closely examine the data behind each rating and determine any action steps needed to improve."
On the other end of the scale, Jewish Hospital and UofL Health - Mary and Elizabeth Hospital both received a "D" grade, the lowest grade given to local hospitals.
"The grades issued by Leapfrog reflect data that lags by several years. UofL Health uses other benchmarks to drive improvement throughout our organization and we will never be satisfied with anything other than providing top-quality patient care," David McArthur, director of public relations for UofL Health, told the Courier Journal.
According to the Leapfrog Group, hospital safety grades score on "overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors. The grades are derived from expert analysis of publicly available data using up to 31 evidence-based, national measures of hospital safety."
The score takes into consideration factors such as infections patients receive while in hospital care, problems associated with surgery performed at the hospitals, safety issues and harmful events for patients, staff safety practices, and staff leadership, communication and training. The hospital ratings program is based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients, a release from Norton Healthcare said. The Leapfrog Group uses publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to nearly 3,000 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year, in the fall and spring.
Here's a look at how all area hospitals scored this year and some previous grades:
Baptist Health Floyd Hospital
1850 State St., New Albany, Indiana
2023 Fall: C
2023 Spring: C
2022 Fall: B
2022 Spring: A
2021 Fall: B
2021 Spring: B
2020 Fall: B
2020 Spring: B
Baptist Health La Grange
1025 New Moody Lane
2023 Fall: A
2023 Spring: C
2022 Fall: C
2022 Spring: C
2021 Fall: B
2021 Spring: A
2020 Fall: A
2020 Spring: C
Baptist Health Louisville Hospital
4000 Kresge Way
2023 Fall: B
2023 Spring: B
2022 Fall: B
2022 Spring: B
2021 Fall: B
2021 Spring: B
2020 Fall: B
2020 Spring: C
Clark Memorial Hospital
1220 Missouri Avenue, Jeffersonville, Indiana
2023 Fall: C
2023 Spring: D
2022 Fall: C
2022 Spring: C
2021 Fall: C
2021 Spring: C
2020 Fall: D
2020 Spring: C
Norton Hospital
200 E. Chestnut St.
2023 Fall: A
2023 Spring: B
2022 Fall: A
2022 Spring: A
2021 Fall: A
2021 Spring: A
2020 Fall: A
2020 Spring: A
Norton Audubon Hospital
1 Audubon Plaza Drive
2023 Fall: A
2023 Spring: B
2022 Fall: A
2022 Spring: A
2021 Fall: A
2021 Spring: A
2020 Fall: A
2020 Spring: A
Norton Brownsboro Hospital
4960 Norton Healthcare Blvd.
2023 Fall: A
2023 Spring: B
2022 Fall: A
2022 Spring: A
2021 Fall: A
2021 Spring: A
2020 Fall: A
2020 Spring: A
Norton Women's & Children's Hospital
4001 Dutchmans Lane
2023 Fall: A
2023 Spring: B
2022 Fall: A
2022 Spring: A
2021 Fall: A
2021 Spring: A
2020 Fall: A
2020 Spring: A
University of Louisville Hospital
530 S. Jackson St.
2023 Fall: C
2023 Spring: C
2022 Fall: B
2022 Spring: C
2021 Fall: C
2021 Spring: C
2020 Fall: C
2020 Spring: D
UofL Health - Jewish Hospital
200 Abraham Flexner Way
2023 Fall: D
2023 Spring: C
2022 Fall: C
2022 Spring: C
2021 Fall: C
2021 Spring: C
2020 Fall: C
2020 Spring: C
UofL Health - Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
1850 Bluegrass Ave.
2023 Fall: D
2023 Spring: D
2022 Fall: C
2022 Spring: C
2021 Fall: B
2021 Spring: C
2020 Fall: C
2020 Spring: D
Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @oliviamevans_.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How safe are Louisville hospitals? Leapfrog 2023 hospital safety score
