Report: These are the safest hospitals in Tampa Bay

The nonprofit watchdog organization Leapfrog Group, which analyzes thousands of hospitals across the U.S., has released its safety grades for Tampa Bay hospitals. 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital rating focused exclusively on hospital safety. It issues A, B, C, D or F letter grades to show how safe hospitals are. Leapfrog analyzed more than 60 hospitals in Florida, which received a mix of grades.  

The grades are determined based on multiple measures ranging from leaving objects in patients to preventing staph infections and deaths. The new grades do take into account how hospitals performed during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The AdventHealth health care system in the greater Tampa Bay area was the only system that continues to be awarded all “A” scores in patient safety.

Its North Pinellas campus has achieved 18 consecutive “A” patient safety grades. 

AdventHealth said it has implemented and enhanced several division-wide processes, including elevating best practices in bar code scanning as a safety net to assure that the right patient receives the right medication every time, according to a news release from the hospital. 

“We are extremely proud of our hospital team members for their commitment to quality and providing the safest environment for all our patients,” AdventHealth North Pinellas Chief of Nursing Jennifer Segur said in a statement. “Few hospitals have achieved this milestone; it shows that even during challenging times in health care we remain compassionate and resilient.” 

One Florida hospital received an “F” grade, which was Halifax Health Medical Center in Port Orange.

Leapfrog does not currently assign grades to military/Veterans Administration hospitals, critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, children’s hospitals or outpatient surgery centers.

Find the full list here of the Florida hospitals that were graded. 

Here’s a highlight of how some of the other Tampa Bay hospitals performed, according to the Leapfrog Group: 

Tampa General Hospital

Grade: C grade for spring 2022; previously graded a B for fall 2021 

Why: The hospital received negative marks on preventing certain staph infections, sepsis infections after surgeries, leaving dangerous objects in patients after surgeries and patients developing dangerous blood clots. Despite the negative scores, the hospital did achieve some high marks in instituting ways to prevent errors such as handwashing and communication between staff and patients. 

HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital (formerly known as the St. Petersburg General Hospital)

Grade: A grade for spring 2022; previously graded a C for fall 2021 

Why: Overall, the hospital prevented many infections from occurring with the exception of infections at a surgical site and sepsis. The hospital received a perfect score on not leaving dangerous objects in a patient. The St. Pete hospital performed above average on preventing dangerous bed sores, air or gas bubbles in the blood, and safety measures such as handwashing. However, the hospital received a negative score on preventing blood clots and had a mixed review on communication between staff. 

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg

Grade: C grade for spring 2022; previously graded a C for fall 2021 

Why: The hospital performed above average on preventing infections in the blood during a patient’s stay in the intensive care unit and preventing sepsis after surgeries. Bayfront received a perfect score on not leaving any dangerous objects in patients although, it did not perform well in preventing deaths from serious complications, kidney injuries after surgery and other events. It also received a mixed review on practices to prevent errors. 

St. Anthony’s Hospital

Grade: A grade for spring 2022; previously graded an A for fall 2021 

Why: It received a high score on preventing infections after surgery. It also received a perfect score on enforcing practices to prevent errors; however, the hospital received a mix of reviews in other categories. It performed below average on preventing death from serious treatable complications, as well as blood leakage and patients experiencing kidney injuries after surgery. The hospital did perform above average on not leaving dangerous objects in patients. 

Mease Countryside Hospital and Mease Dunedin Hospital

Grade: Mease Countryside Hospital: A grade for spring 2022; previously graded an A for fall 2021; Mease Dunedin Hospital received the same grades 

Why: The Mease Countryside campus received a near-perfect score on its measure to prevent errors and communication between staff and patients. However, the campus received mixed reviews on preventing certain infections, problems with surgeries and safety issues. The hospital received a negative score on categories such as leaving dangerous objects in patients and preventing deaths from serious treatable complications. 

The Mease Dunedin Hospital received high scores on preventing infections and problems following surgeries; however, not all of its information was available. Overall, it performed above average on practices to prevent errors and communication. It did perform below average on preventing bedsores, falls and injuries, and dangerous blood clots. 

Northside Hospital St. Petersburg

Grade: B grade for spring 2022; previously graded a B for fall 2021 

Why: It performed above average in some aspects of preventing certain infections in patients. It received positive scores for not leaving dangerous objects in patients, blood leakage and surgical wounds splitting open. It performed on average with preventing deaths from serious treatable complications, which many hospitals received a negative score on. It had a mixed review of its practices to prevent errors, and for communication between staff and patients.

Palms of Pasadena Hospital

Grade: B grade for spring 2022; previously graded a B for fall 2021 

Why: It received a near-perfect score in practices to prevent errors. The Pasadena hospital did have a mixed review on preventing certain infections as not all of the information was available. In problems dealing with surgery, the hospital received a perfect score in not leaving dangerous objects in patients. It did receive a negative score on preventing deaths from serious treatable complications, kidney injuries after surgeries and accidental cuts and tears. 

Memorial Hospital of Tampa

Grade: C grade for spring 2022; previously graded a B for fall 2021 

Why: The hospital overall received positive marks on preventing an array of infections from sepsis to infections in the blood, but it did receive a below-average score on preventing a certain bacterial infection. The hospital also received a negative score on leaving dangerous objects in patients. However, it did receive high scores on performing above average in areas such as preventing surgical wounds opening, kidney injuries occurring after surgery and patients developing dangerous blood clots. It received mixed scoring on practices to prevent errors and communication. 

Morton Plant Hospital

Grade: A grade for spring 2022; previously graded an A for fall 2021 

Why: The hospital received a near-perfect score on avoiding problems with surgery, which includes not leaving dangerous objects in patients and preventing deaths from serious treatable complications. The hospital did perform above average in preventing a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics; however, the hospital did not perform well in preventing sepsis from occurring after surgery in patients. The hospital received a perfect score on using practices to prevent errors, including communication and handwashing.