The grades are in: How safe are local hospitals?

Several St. Petersburg hospitals have earned high marks in the latest hospital safety ratings recently released by Leapfrog, an independent nonprofit.

St. Anthony’s Hospital was the city’s only acute-care provider to earn an “A” grade in the organization’s recently released assessment. HCA Florida Northside Hospital was the only institution to receive less than a “B.”

St. Anthony’s, a BayCare Health System member, has maintained an A in the biannual rankings since spring 2020. Nine of the network’s 11 regional hospitals reached that benchmark this fall.

“At BayCare, our commitment to patient safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said Dr. Laura Arline, chief quality officer, in a prepared statement. “We are incredibly proud of our achievement in the Fall 2024 Leapfrog Safety Grades, which showcases our team’s dedication to providing the safest, highest quality care to the patients in our communities.”

St. Anthony’s received a perfect 120 score for its doctors, nurses and staff. The hospital at 1200 7^th Ave. N. also earned high marks for its practices to prevent errors.

However, St. Anthony’s received below-average scores for mitigating blood, urinary tract and post-surgery infections. Here are Leapfrog’s grades and insights for other local hospitals:

Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital – B: Leapfrog credited the hospital, formerly Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, for its “effective leadership to prevent errors.” The facility at 701 6^th St. S. earned average scores for safety problems. Bayfront received its lowest ratings for infection prevention and surgical issues.

HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital – B: Despite low bedside care and communication ratings, the facility at 6500 38^th Ave. N. received a perfect score for its doctors, nurses and staff. Leapfrog also credited the hospital’s error prevention efforts. Due to missing information, HCA Florida St. Petersburg did not receive an infection mitigation ranking.

HCA Florida Pasadena Hospital – B: The acute care center also lacked infection prevention ratings. However, the facility at 1501 Pasadena Ave. S. received high marks for mitigating surgery issues and safety problems. HCA Florida Pasadena’s staff earned average scores for their communication and responsiveness.

HCA Florida Northside Hospital – C: St. Petersburg’s third HCA-branded facility received the city’s lowest grade. While its infection prevention efforts were slightly below average, staff received poor marks for handwashing, medication information and discharge communication. However, the hospital at 6000 49^th St. N. earned high scores for ensuring patient safety.

HCA Florida Largo Hospital – B: The facility at 201 14^th St. SW. earned above-average scores for mitigating surgery, infection and safety issues. The hospital’s doctors, nurses and staff received low marks for their communication and responsiveness.

Morton Plant Hospital – A: Leapfrog credited the Clearwater hospital’s personnel for their effective communication, responsiveness and practices to prevent errors. The facility at 300 Pinellas St. received average scores for mitigating infections.

Mease Dunedin and Palm Harbor’s Mease Countryside Hospital also earned A grades in the assessment. Notably, Tampa General Hospital – the region’s largest and only designated Level I trauma center – has received a C in five of the past six Leapfrog reports.

Leapfrog has studied and publicly graded hospitals nationwide for over a decade to help reduce deaths and injuries caused by preventable errors. The nonprofit assesses more than 30 performance metrics reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services before releasing its report cards.

Florida placed 13^th nationally in the fall evaluation, with 71 of the state’s 193 assessed facilities (37%) earning an A. Utah ranked first for the third consecutive year.

“Preventable deaths and harm in hospitals have been a major policy concern for decades,” said Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in a prepared statement. “So, it is good news that Leapfrog’s latest safety grades reveal that hospitals across the country are making notable gains in patient safety, saving countless lives.”

To read the full report, visit the website here.