Two-thirds of Orange County hospitals received an A in the first national rating of preventable patient injuries and illnesses, according to the employer-financed nonprofit Leapfrog Group.
The Leapfrog Group stated it created its ratings in response to a “silent epidemic” of preventable medical and medication errors, injuries and infections. It doesn’t evaluate overall medical care, surgery or other treatment.
The goal, according to a news release, is to give patients information they can check before selecting a hospital and to encourage hospitals to increase patient safety.
“Approximately 400 people die every day because of hospital errors, the equivalent of a jet crashing every day and killing all aboard,” the news release asserted.
“We hope people will use this score to talk with their doctor, make informed decisions about where to seek care, and take the right precautions during a hospital stay,” Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder stated in the news release.
The Orange County percentage of high scorers was well ahead of the 37 percent statewide that received the highest rating. Of 264 hospitals rated throughout California, 41 percent received a C or lower. Three of the 18 Orange County hospitals included in the survey were given Cs.
Only one Orange County hospital, Western Medical Center of Santa Ana, owned by Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc., received the lowest rating, an SP. The initials stand for Score Pending. Hospitals designated SP have until November to improve when they will be given a D or F.
Not all hospitals were included in the safety ratings. In its news release, Leapfrog stated it rated only “general short-stay hospitals” because that category had the most public information available nationwide.
As a result, specialty hospitals, including children’s hospitals, cancer hospitals, the Veterans Administration and other military hospitals and long-term care facilities, were not rated.
Leapfrog plans to update the ratings in November and issue them each year going forward. More than 2,600 hospitals were rated nationwide. To see details of your hospital’s score, click here.
The 12 Orange County hospitals that received an A were:
- Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, and Placentia-Linda Hospital, owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp. of Dallas, Texas.
- Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center and La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, owned by Ontario-based Prime Healthcare Services.
- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach.
- Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center.
- Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center of Laguna Hills owned by Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Health System.
- St. Joseph Hospital of Orange and St. Jude Medical Center of Fullerton, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
- The University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange.
- West Anaheim Medical Center owned by Integrated Healthcare Holdings.
The two hospitals that received a B are:
- Anaheim Regional Medical Center, owned by Alhambra-based AHMC Healthcare, Inc.
- Tenet’s Los Alamitos Medical Center.
C’s were awarded to:
- IHHI’s Chapman Medical Center in Orange and Coastal Communities Hospital in Santa Ana, owned by Integrated Healthcare Holdings.
- The Sisters of St. Joseph’s Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.
SP (Score Pending):
- Western Medical Center of Santa Ana, owned by Integrated Healthcare Holdings.