WASHINGTON – In a new rating of patient safety, Winona Health was ranked 32nd in Minnesota. The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit health care watchdog, gave the hospital a C rating on a school-like A to F scale. The leading Minnesota hospital was Essentia Health’s Saint Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Several Mayo Clinic hospitals received an A grade. An exception was the Mayo hospital in Red Wing, which, like Winona Health, received a C. There were no D’s or F’s in the state. The ratings:
A grades
> Essentia Health Saint Mary’s Medical Center
> Mayo Clinic Hospital – Saint Marys Campus
> Cambridge Medical Center
> United Hospital
> Lake Region Healthcare
> Methodist Hospital
> Abbott Northwestern Hospital
> Mayo Clinic Hospital – Methodist Campus
> Lakeview Hospital
> Owatonna Hospital
> Buffalo Hospital>Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato
> Mayo Clinic Health System – Austin
> Mayo Clinic Health System – Fairmont
B grades
> Hennepin Healthcare
> Olmsted Medical Center
> Northfield Hospital
.> Fairview Range
> Ridgeview Medical Center>
> M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital
> Mercy Hospital
> Mercy Hospital – Unity Campus
> M Health Fairview Northland Medical Center
> M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital
C grades
> North Memorial Health Hospital
> Mayo Clinic Health System – Red Wing
> Sanford Worthington Medical Center
> Alomere Health
> CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital
> Winona Health
> St. Luke’s Hospital
> M Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center
> Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital
> Essentia Health – Saint Joseph’s Medical Center
> M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center – West Bank Hospital
> Essentia Health – Virginia Clinic
> CentraCare – Rice Memorial Hospital
> Sanford Bemidji Medical Center
> Essentia Health St. Mary’s – Detroit Lakes
> St. Francis Regional Medical Center
> Regions Hospital
> Hutchinson Health Hospital
> M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital
> M Health Fairview Woodwinds Hospital
> Maple Grove Hospital
Leapfrog’s measures
Leapfrog used more than 30 measures of hospitals’ ability to protect patients from preventable errors. Considered were communication with nurses and doctors, staff responsiveness, and communication about medicine and discharge information. Hospitals were asked to use a Leapfrog survey of patients, but, Leapfrog noted, Winona Health did not do so.
Great concerns
Leah Binder, Leapfrog chief executive, expressed concern about growing incidence of:
> Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection.
> A central line-associated bloodstream infection.
> Catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Compared to rankings that covered the period immediately before the CoVid outbreak, the analysis found an increased infection ratio nationwide for all three infections. “We recognize the tremendous strain the pandemic put on hospitals and their workforce, but alarming findings like these indicate hospitals must recommit to patient safety and build more resilience,” Binder said.