Preventable hospital errors account for upwards of 150,000 deaths per year in the United States.

By evaluating hospitals’ patient safety practices, national nonprofit The Leapfrog Group hopes to encourage best practices, reduce unnecessary patient harm, and hold health care systems publicly accountable.

On Friday, November 15, Leapfrog published its autumn 2024 hospital safety rating.

FAMILY: Safety ratings dropped for 15 hospitals in Michigan. See how yours did in the fall of 2024

Michigan had 22 hospitals that received an “A” grade. Its 27.2% “A” ranks 29th nationally.

Below are four important tips from the latest security analysis.

How are hospitals rated?

The Leapfrog Group uses up to 30 national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, its own Leapfrog Hospital Survey and other supplemental data sources to arrive at a rating for each hospital twice a year.

Ideally, hospitals participate in the survey, but publicly available information allows the group to grade a hospital even if its management declines to share additional information.

“We believe the most important thing a hospital can ensure they are doing well is patient safety,” said Alexandra Campione, lead analyst for The Leapfrog Group. “It’s not something that we’re necessarily guaranteed when we go into a hospital, but it’s very important.

“Our safety classes really summarize, in an easy-to-use format, what the hospital has done to prevent future medical errors and their experience in preventing medical errors and other patient safety events.”

These 2 hospitals in Michigan received failing grades

Failing grades are rare, with fewer than 1% of hospitals receiving an “F” each evaluation period (spring and fall).

Michigan had two “F” hospitals this fall — Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai-Grace Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital. The state had an “F” last fall and none in the spring.

FAMILY: 2 Michigan hospitals receive failing ratings for patient safety

Among the problem areas for the two Detroit hospitals were bloodstream infections, post-surgery infections, dangerous bedsores, surgical wounds that burst open and deaths from serious treatable complications — all scored below average.

A DMC spokesman noted that the system does not participate in the annual Leapfrog survey. They did not respond to a follow-up email from MLive asking why the hospitals are not participating.

Where is Michigan’s safest hospital?

There is at least one “A” hospital in 19 of Michigan’s 83 counties. They include: Alpena, Crawford, Emmet, Gratiot, Houghton, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Livingston, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Oakland, Ogemaw, Ottawa, St. Clair, Wayne and Wexford.

Ten hospitals have maintained an “A” rating for at least the last four assessment periods dating back to spring 2023. They include:

• Corewell Health Zealand Hospital
• Lake Huron Medical Center
• Henry Ford Health West Bloomfield Hospital
• Corewell Health Ludington Hospital
• Trinity Health Livingston Hospital
• Corewell Health Greenville Hospital
• Trinity Health Grand Rapids
• Garden City Hospital
• Corewell Health Big Rapids Hospital
• Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital

How was your hospital rated?

To find your hospital, check out the searchable database below. Grades are available for the last four grading periods.

Note: Leapfrog does not rate Veteran’s Affairs hospitals, critical care hospitals, specialty hospitals, children’s hospitals, or outpatient clinics. Most “ungraded” hospitals in Michigan are considered “critical access hospitals.”

For more detailed assessments of your local hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.orgselect Michigan and select a hospital.