Maine had the safest hospitals in the country, according to a national watchdog organization that rates hospitals across the United States.
The Leapfrog Group graded more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals across a series of safety data to determine which ones are doing well and which ones need improvement.
In Maine, it found that 10 of 17 hospitals for which it released ratings this week scored an A, including Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston and Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.
Six of the others in Maine got a B, including St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. Only one got a C, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
“‘A’ hospitals show us their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leafrog, said in a prepared statement.
“It takes genuine commitment at every level — from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors — and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A,” Binder said.
For CMMC, it marked the third straight A rating.
David Tupponce, president of Central Maine Medical Center and executive vice president of Central Maine Healthcare, said it marks a recognition of CMMC’s “dedication to providing the highest quality of safe care to our community. Our teams consistently strive to improve the patient experience.”
St. Mary’s has received a B in four of the past five ratings, which are handed out in the spring and fall each year. It got an A last fall, but did not retain it in either of this year’s ratings.
Franklin had received two Bs prior to moving up this fall. As recently as 2017, it got two Cs in a row.
Leapfrog, which formed two decades ago, began handing out grades in a bid to push hospitals to do more to keep patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.
It says its scores are based on public data and peer-reviewed analysis.
Binder said that as a result of the push for better safety, there are fewer deaths from preventable errors.
Maine is one of only three states where more than half the hospitals received an A. The others are Utah and Virginia.
Across the country, 58% of hospitals got an A or a B. Only a smattering failed.
Three states had no hospitals with an A rating: Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming.
The other Maine hospitals to receive an A were: Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Southern Maine Healthcare in Biddeford, Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Northern Light Health Mercy Hospital in Portland, Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville, Northern Light Maine Coastal Hospital in Ellsworth, Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent and York Hospital in York.
For more details, check out Leapfrog’s ratings at hospitalsafetygrade.org.
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