NOVEMBER 16, 2022

Sarasota Memorial Hospital received another “A” in the Fall 2022 Hospital Safety report cards released by the Leapfrog Group today.

The national distinction recognizes the Sarasota hospital for its continuous achievements in protecting hospitalized patients from medical errors and preventable harm. The latest grades provide a continuing look at the impact of COVID-19 on patient safety in nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide, as well as a new focus on a decade of patient safety initiatives demonstrated by the nation’s hospitals.

Many hospitals that received lower scores in the pandemic-era timeframe, reflecting how patient care worsened due to strains on the health care system and workforce, improved during the latest grading period.

Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital in the region that has maintained a straight-A streak since 2016.

“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,” said Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder. “This award is a reflection of their commitment, quality service and personal sacrifice.”

Highlights from the Fall 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade include:

• 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.
• There were no “A” hospitals in the District of Columbia, North Dakota, or Vermont.

Measures used in the Hospital Safety Grade have changed over time, but those that could be reliably tracked over the past decade show a consistent pattern of better performance. For five of the outcome measures that can be tracked, these improvements saved an estimated more than 16,000 lives over the 10-year period, said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.  “We salute hospitals for this milestone and encourage them to accelerate their hard work saving patient lives,” she said.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. Leapfrog assigns grades to hospitals based on 30 national performance measures reflecting each hospital’s record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.  The grading system is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring to help patients choose the safest hospitals for their care. SMH-Venice, which opened in November 2021, was not open long enough to be included in Leapfrog’s current study.

The Leapfrog grading system is peer-reviewed, free to the public and designed to help patients choose the safest hospitals for their care. To view the Fall 2022 result, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.