4 Wisconsin Hospitals Get Startling ‘D’ Grade For Patient Safety
As the year draws to a close, many people in Wisconsin are starting to enroll in their healthcare plans for 2025. One important factor to consider for cost is making sure your doctor is part of your provider's network. I had to double-check that this year for our family as our healthcare provider is changing next year.
While watching the bottom line is important, I think ensuring the place you choose for healthcare is safe is a more crucial factor. The assumption is that all hospitals take amazing care of their patients, but the truth is that there are hospitals letting patients down in that regard, sometimes with tragic results.
According to LeapFrog Hospital Safety Grade, these tend to be hospitals with teams that lack the leadership that ensures they're working together to make patient safety the number one priority.
When environments such as this exist within a hospital, one mistake can turn into patients experiencing dangerous complications, slower recovery times, and even unnecessary deaths in some instances.
Nationwide Safety Numbers Are Troubling
The statistics in the study are alarming:
- Upwards of 200,000 people die every year from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections
- Every year, 1 out of every 31 patients develops an infection while in the hospital, an infection that didn’t have to happen.
- A Medicare patient has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing injury, harm, or death when admitted to a hospital.
- Today alone, more than 500 people will die because of preventable hospital errors.
Because most hospital errors can be prevented, the report utilizes up to 30 national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to create Hospital Safety Grades. Factors such as medical errors, problems with surgery, safety problems, practices in place to prevent errors, and hospital staff are considered.
The hospital grades created by LeapFrog, and released twice each year, have become the gold standard for hospital safety rankings in America. They not only provide consumers with crucial information that allows them to make informed choices on where to receive care, but they also show hospitals the area(s) in which they need to improve
Hospital Safety Grades In Wisconsin
New hospital safety grades were just released this fall and Minnesota ranked #25 among all states for hospital safety.
Wisconsin had an impressive 19 hospitals earn an 'A' grade, while another 13 hospitals earned a 'B'. The hospitals that earned an 'A' grade were:
- Ascension NE Wisconsin - St Elizabeth Campus
- Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus
- Aurora BayCare Medical Center
- Aurora Lakeland Medical Center
- Aurora Medical Center Burlington
- Aurora Medical Center Grafton
- Aurora Medical Center Manitowoc County
- Aurora Medical Center of Kenosha
- Aurora Medical Center of Oshkosh
- Aurora Medical Center of Washington County
- Aurora Medical Center Sheboygan County
- Aurora Medical Center Summit
- Aurora West Allis Medical Center
- Bellin Memorial Hospital
- Beloit Memorial Hospital
- Mayo Clinic Health System-Eau Claire
- Mayo Clinic Health System-La Crosse
- Sauk Prairie Hospital
- Watertown Regional Medical Center
In Wisconsin, 30 hospitals earned a mediocre 'C' grade, but 4 hospitals fared even worse and received a 'D' grade for patient safety.
Wisconsin Hospitals Who Earned A 'D' Grade For Hospital Safety
1. HSHS St. Mary's Hospital of Green Bay
Located at 1726 Shawano Avenue, HSHS St. Mary's Hospital of Green Bay failed to score 'Better Than Average' in several key indicators including dangerous bed sores, handwashing, safe medication administration, patient falls and injuries, and more.
The hospital did score well in some safety areas. You can see the full report below.
2. Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire
Located at 2310 Craig Road, Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire failed to score 'Better Than Average' in several key indicators including accidental cuts and tears, handwashing, safe medication administration, patient falls and injuries, and more.
The hospital did score well in some safety areas. You can see the full report below.
3. Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center - Janesville
Located at 1000 Mineral Point Avenue, Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center - Janesville failed to score 'Better Than Average' in several key indicators including handwashing, safe medication administration, patient falls and injuries including broken hips, and more.
The hospital did score well in some safety areas. You can see the full report below.
4. UnityPoint Health - Meriter
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Located at 202 S. Park Street in Madison, UnityPoint Health - Meriter failed to score 'Better Than Average' in several key indicators including sepsis infection after surgery, accidental cuts and tears, falls causing broken hips, handwashing, safe medication administration, and more.
The hospital did score well in some safety areas. You can see the full report below.
All hospitals can now improve in areas they fell short before the new Hospital Safety Grades are released in the spring of 2025.
You can see all the grades Wisconsin hospitals included in the fall survey received by clicking the button below. Just search by state and select “WI" in the drop-down menu.
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