Scores are in for Columbia-area hospitals. See where they rank in new safety grade report

Two hospitals in the Columbia area of South Carolina recently received the highest mark possible in the fall safety grades released by a medical watchdog group. Most Midlands medical facilities repeated the solid ratings they received in the last scores, which were released this spring.

The newest biannual ranking shows that both Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge and Prisma Health Baptist again can be considered among the safest hospitals in South Carolina. They retained their As from the spring ranking, while another area hospital in that medical chain — Prisma Health Tuomey — had its grade improve in the latest ranking.

Since 2012, the Leapfrog Group has published Hospital Safety Scores twice a year — once in the spring and once during the fall — to create transparency in the U.S. health system. The rating is focused on “errors, accidents, injuries and infections,” the group said on its website.

Based on this criteria, Columbia and Lexington hospitals received two A grades, two Bs and two Cs for the fall. Those include:

▪ Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge repeated its score from the spring ranking of A.

▪ Prisma Health Baptist repeated its score from the spring ranking of A.

▪ Lexington Medical Center repeated its score from the spring ranking of B.

▪ Prisma Health Richland repeated its score from the spring ranking of B.

▪ MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast repeated its score from the spring ranking of C. The facility was formerly Providence Health Northeast.

▪ MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown repeated its score from the spring ranking of C. The facility was formerly Providence Health.

Three other hospitals in the Midlands received an A, while another got a grade after failing to qualify for the spring ranking.

▪ MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center repeated its score from the spring ranking of A.

▪ McCleod Health Clarendon in Manning repeated its score from the spring ranking of A.

▪ Prisma Health Tuomey (in Sumter) saw its grade rise one letter from B in the spring ranking to A.

▪ Newberry County Memorial Hospital repeated its score from the spring ranking of B.

▪ MUSC Health Orangeburg returned to the rankings with a C score, after the hospital failed to receive a grade in the spring because of missing data, Leapfrog said. The hospital was formerly Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties.

“We are incredibly honored to receive an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group for the third consecutive time,” MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Tallulah Holmstrom said Monday in a news release. “This recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team, who remain deeply committed to providing the highest standards of safety and care for our patients. It’s a testament to our ongoing efforts to create a safe and supportive environment for the communities we serve.”

Grading South Carolina

Overall in South Carolina, of the 52 hospitals that were ranked, 21 received an A. That matches the same number to get an A grade in the spring rankings.

No hospitals in the Palmetto State received an F in the fall grades. But for the second consecutive grading period, hospitals in South Carolina — this time Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill and Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital — were issued D grades.

Nationally, South Carolina slipped slightly as it was ranked 10th among all states, tied with Colorado. Of the hospitals in the Palmetto State, 40.4% scored an A rating. Again, that was a slight drop from the fall (42%), when South Carolina was ranked ninth in the nation.

The bigger picture

Utah (60.7%) remained the top-rated state in the U.S. for the third consecutive grading period. There was a four-way tie for lowest grade — among Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont — as none had a hospital with an A grade.

“Upwards of 250,000 people die every year from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections,” the Leapfrog Group said. “It’s up to everyone to make sure that patient safety is the No. 1 priority at every hospital across the United States. Some hospitals have hidden dangers, but there are things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.”

Leapfrog said it graded about 3,000 hospitals nationwide this fall.

“Preventable deaths and harm in hospitals have been a major policy concern for decades. So, it is good news that Leapfrog’s latest Safety Grades reveal that hospitals across the country are making notable gains in patient safety, saving countless lives,” Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said on the group’s website. “Next, we need hospitals to accelerate this progress — because no one should have to die from a preventable error in a hospital.”

Leapfrog said more than 500 people will die today because of a preventable hospital error, and every year 1 of 31 patients will develop a preventable infection while in the hospital.

“You should never refuse care in an emergency because of a hospital’s safety grade,” Leapfrog said. But talk with a doctor about the best hospital for planned, elective procedures.

However, Leapfrog’s study shows that patients at “D” and “F” hospitals face a greater risk of dying than those at hospitals graded A.

“We know ‘A’ hospitals do a better job at preventing errors,” Leapfrog previously said. “If your local hospital rates below an ‘A,’ talk with your doctor at that hospital and urge them to improve their safety.”

Making the grade

The Leapfrog Group said 22 measures are used to generate hospital safety grades, and it reports on five patient experience measures that have a direct impact on patient safety outcomes: nurse communication, doctor communication, staff responsiveness, communication about medicine and discharge information.

The Leapfrog safety grade is divided into two domains: Process/Structural Measures and Outcome Measures.

Process Measures represent how often a hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition or procedure. For example, “Responsiveness of hospital staff” looks at patients’ feedback on how long it takes for a staff member to respond when they request help.

Structural Measures represent the environment in which patients receive care. For example, “Doctors order medications through a computer” represents whether a hospital uses a special computerized system to prevent errors when prescribing medications.

Outcome Measures represent what happens to a patient while receiving care. For example, “Dangerous object left in patient’s body” measures how many times a patient undergoing surgery had a dangerous foreign object, such as a sponge or tool, left in their body.

The Process Measures include:

▪ Computerized Physician Order Entry

▪ Bar Code Medication Administration

▪ ICU Physician Staffing

▪ Leadership Structures and Systems

▪ Culture Measurement, Feedback & Intervention

▪ Nursing Workforce

▪ Hand Hygiene

▪ Nurse Communication

▪ Doctor Communication

▪ Staff Responsiveness

▪ Communication about Medicines

▪ Discharge Information

The Outcome Measures include:

▪ Foreign Object Retained

▪ Air Embolism

▪ Falls and Trauma

▪ CLABSI

▪ CAUTI

▪ SSI: Colon

▪ MRSA

▪ C. Diff.

▪ Death Rate among Surgical Inpatients with Serious Treatable Conditions

▪ Patient safety and adverse events composite

SOURCE: Leapfrog Medical Group

This story was originally published November 17, 2024 at 11:12 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription