10 Ascension hospitals earn an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group

Ascension, one of the nation's largest Catholic and nonprofit health systems, has announced that 10 hospitals have earned an "A" and 17 hospitals have earned a "B" Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization focused on advancing patient safety. Since the last measurement period, Ascension added three hospitals to the "A" or "B" grade category. Ascension's Leapfrog GPA has increased this spring, despite data reporting challenges stemming from the spring 2024 cyberattack.

These grades reflect Ascension's dedication to creating a safe, reliable environment for every patient. Leapfrog assigns an "A" through "F" grade to general hospitals across the country based on 22 performance measures. For four years, including the current grading period, no Ascension hospitals have been in the "D" or "F" categories. The performance measures reflect preventable medical errors, infections, and patient injuries, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to keep patients safe.

"These recognitions reflect the extraordinary work of our caregivers and the strength of a system committed to delivering safe, reliable care for every patient we serve," said Thomas Aloia, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Ascension. "At Ascension, we have built a proactive culture of safety, where teams are equipped with the tools, data, and support to identify risk early and act quickly. This recognition is a testament to our shared commitment to continuous improvement and to ensuring that every patient receives the safest, highest-quality care possible across our system."

The following Ascension hospitals received "A" Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group:

• Ascension St. Vincent's Clay County (Middleburg, FL)
• Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast (Miramar Beach, FL)
• Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola (Pensacola, FL)
• Ascension St. Vincent's Medical Center Riverside (Jacksonville, FL)
• Ascension St. Vincent Kokomo (Kokomo, IN)
• Ascension Via Christi Hospital Manhattan (Manhattan, KS)
• Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Medical Center (Bartlesville, OK)
• Ascension Seton Northwest (Austin, TX)
• Ascension NE Wisconsin - St. Elizabeth Hospital (Appleton, WI)
• Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph (Milwaukee, WI)

Additionally, the following Ascension hospitals earned a "B" Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group:

• Ascension St. Vincent's Medical Center Southside (Jacksonville, FL)
• Ascension St. Vincent's St. Johns County (St. Johns, FL)
• Ascension St. Vincent Carmel (Carmel, IN)
• Ascension Via Christi St. Teresa (Wichita, KS)
• Ascension St. John Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, OK)
• Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital (Nashville, TN)
• Ascension Saint Thomas West Hospital (Nashville, TN)
• Ascension Dell Seton Medical Center - UT (Austin, TX)
• Ascension Seton Cedar Park (Cedar Park, TX)
• Ascension Providence Hospital (Waco, TX)
• Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (Austin, TX)
• Ascension Seton Hays (Kyle, TX)
• Ascension Seton Williamson (Round Rock, TX)
• Ascension All Saints Hospital (Racine, WI)
• Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - Elmbrook (Brookfield, WI)
• Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - Franklin (Franklin, WI)
• Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee (Mequon, WI)

Each year, Ascension establishes clinical priority goals that focus multidisciplinary teams to advance key system-wide initiatives. Aiming at stretch targets, Ascension remains dedicated to meeting these standards of safety, quality, and access through strengthened capabilities and processes.

Translating these goals into impact, Ascension's focused investments in clinical excellence and patient safety translate directly into measurable outcomes. For instance, the system-wide Recognize and Rescue initiative has helped prevent more than 4,000 deaths since its launch. Additionally, sustained collaboration in infection prevention has significantly reduced healthcare-associated infection rates. Combined, these initiatives demonstrate how Ascension's teams are living the commitment to safety and quality every day. The latest Leapfrog results reflect our ongoing efforts to strengthen consistency and reliability in care across all facilities.

Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Grade program is a national rating focused exclusively on hospital safety, preventable medical errors, infections, and patient injuries. It is peer-reviewed, transparent, and available to the public at no cost, with updated grades published twice annually in fall and spring. For detailed hospital grades and safety tips for patients, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

As a result of the spring 2024 cyberattack, Ascension was unable to submit full datasets for many of our safety and quality measures to key stakeholders, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). As a result, Leapfrog had limited data available to import for determining grades. According to Leapfrog methodology, when certain data points are unavailable, higher weight is redistributed to other reported metrics, potentially impacting overall scores. This gap has impacted Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades at some of our hospitals and may continue to impact grades into calendar year 2027.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization that evaluates hospitals across the United States on over 22 performance measures related to medical errors, infections and patient injuries, as well as the efficacy of their preventive measures.