UAB Hospital and UAB Highlands Hospital each scored an “A” on a national nonprofit’s patient safety assessment released Tuesday.
The Leapfrog Group rated about 2,500 hospitals across the country based on publicly available data. A panel of experts graded the hospitals on 27 criteria, including bedsores, patient falls, infections, objects left in patients’ bodies, hand washing, computer system reliability, communication with patients, and adequate nursing staff.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades come out twice a year. This is the third consecutive time UAB and UAB Highlands scored A’s.
Five other hospitals in Alabama also received A’s: Shelby Baptist Medical Center; Vaughan Regional Medical Center; Russell Medical Center; South Baldwin Regional Medical Center; and Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
The most common grade in the state and the nation was C. The lowest grade in Alabama was a D — Stringfellow Memorial Hospital in Anniston.
According to its website, the Leapfrog Group is “committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health system.”
You can check the grades of any participating hospital and the reasons for them, or search by state or city here.
Here are grades for other Birmingham-area hospitals:
— Brookwood Baptist Medical Center: B
— Grandview Medical Center: B
— Medical West Hospital Authority (a UAB affiliate in Bessemer): C
— Princeton Baptist Medical Center: C
— St. Vincent’s Birmingham: B
— St. Vincent’s East: C
— Walker Baptist Medical: B