Several Chicago hospitals earn low marks for quality, safety in new reports, while Rush University Medical Center shines
Several Chicago hospitals earned low marks in two separate reports on quality and safety released this week, while Rush University Medical Center earned top scores from both.
St. Bernard Hospital in Englewood earned the only F in the state in safety ratings released Thursday by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group, which grades hospitals twice a year. Five Illinois hospitals received D grades, including Chicago’s Stroger Hospital and University of Illinois Hospital, Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, and Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City. Many of those hospitals serve high numbers of low-income patients.
The grades are based on data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The grades are tied to up to 27 measures of patient safety from the federal government, a Leapfrog survey and other sources. Measures include falls and trauma, hospital-acquired infections, hand hygiene and death rates among surgical patients with serious, treatable conditions.
Overall, the Leapfrog report ranked Illinois 17th in the country for hospital safety, up from 23rd in the fall — but down from 10th a year ago.
Separate ratings released by the federal government Wednesday showed similar results for some of those low-performing hospitals. St. Bernard and University of Illinois hospitals each earned one star out of five for quality in the ratings from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The ratings are based on deaths, safety of care, patient experience, timeliness and effectiveness of care and readmission rates, which are how often patients have to be readmitted to a hospital after leaving it.
Stroger, Advocate South Suburban and Vista Medical Center East each earned more than one star under the federal government’s system.
St. Bernard, a more than 100-year-old, 174-bed hospital on the South Side, said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with Leapfrog’s F grade and methodology. The statement noted that St. Bernard has declined to participate in Leapfrog’s survey over the past decade “out of concern for the Leapfrog’s inability to fairly measure what is important for a stand-alone, safety-net, community hospital.”
St. Bernard has implemented a number of safety measures over the years, including a software system to track hospital-acquired infections, a system that allows anonymous electronic reporting of safety problems and systems to support safe medication ordering practices, the hospital said.
Cook County Health spokeswoman Elizabeth Pedersen said in a statement the system is pleased to see Stroger’s quality ratings “begin to move into the right direction.” Stroger received an F from Leapfrog during the previous two grading periods.
“No doubt there is more work to be done,” Pedersen said. “We are continuing to implement new processes and policies that will improve patient outcomes and experience.”
University of Illinois Hospital is “committed to providing high quality care to some of Chicago’s most vulnerable patients,” said Dr. Susan Bleasdale, acting chief quality officer and medical director of infection prevention at the hospital, in a statement.
“Unfortunately, Leapfrog and other ratings systems are limited in their ability to account for social determinants of health, leverage real-time data and incorporate other key factors that contribute to patient outcomes into their calculations,” she said.
Advocate Aurora Health said in a statement that, “While we firmly believe efforts to report and measure safety are important, we recognize that government and industry safety organizations use varying methodologies that don’t always reflect the quality of care provided.”
Vista did not respond to a request for comment.
Rush University Medical Center earned the highest marks possible under both ratings systems, with an A from Leapfrog and five stars from the federal government.
Rush University System for Health CEO Dr. Ranga Krishnan called the star ratings “further evidence of the excellence that our patients know they can expect.”
Rush was one of a number of hospitals that urged the federal government in recent years to modify its methodology for the star ratings system, saying it unfairly rated certain hospitals in the past. The star ratings released Wednesday include some of that new methodology.
Some of the Chicago area’s other big-name hospitals had mixed ratings.
University of Chicago Medical Center scored its 19th consecutive A grade from Leapfrog, something achieved by only three other hospitals in the state, including Elmhurst Hospital, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg.
“The first and most basic expectation people need to have when they’re getting medical care is they’ll be kept safe,” said Dr. Stephen Weber, chief medical officer and executive vice president at University of Chicago Medicine. “If you can’t let people feel safe, the rest of it doesn’t matter.”
The federal government awarded University of Chicago Medical Center three stars out of five.
Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood received a C from Leapfrog and three stars from the federal government. Northwestern Memorial Hospital — which has long ranked No. 1 in the state according to U.S. News & World Report — earned a B from Leapfrog, the same grade it earned for the past two years, and five stars from the federal government.
Northwestern said in a statement: “We believe that quality and safety data should be meaningful, informative and transparent to the public. We appreciate the ongoing efforts by Leapfrog to improve the usefulness and accessibility of information for consumers.”
The release of the ratings Thursday follows one of the most difficult years hospitals have ever faced. Early in the pandemic, hospitals lost millions of dollars in revenue as they were forced to cancel elective surgeries and many patients opted to forgo medical care. Hospitals in Illinois and elsewhere have seen staff members fall ill during COVID-19 surges that stretched their bed and ICU capacities.
Weber, with University of Chicago Medicine, said he has mixed feelings about grading hospitals during such a challenging year. He said hospitals and their staff should be recognized for their work under extraordinary conditions over the past year, but at the same time, he understands the need for accountability.
“Even where measures are flawed, it begins a conversation and shines a light which is really valuable,” Weber said.
Many hospitals have long valued ratings, touting good ones in their advertising to try to attract more patients. Hospitals also, however, often criticize ratings systems for not painting a full picture of hospital safety and quality and for their inconsistencies. A number of organizations rate hospitals each year, using different methodologies, and with different results.
