Warning: 9 Texas Hospitals Get Dismal “D” Rating For Patient Safety

How do you choose which hospital to use for your care?

Be it an emergency, a planned surgery, childbirth, etc., we all tend to need a hospital from time to time. Do you pick based on how close they are to you, or by their reputation?

Did you know that you can check your hospital's "grade" to see if you think it's a right fit for you? It's true, thanks to The Leapfrog Group, which has collected data on patient safety in hospitals for over 20 years.

The Leapfrog Group has evaluated nearly 3000 hospitals using 30 performance measures.  These measures cover a wide variety of safety issues, including things like how often they allow a person to develop dangerous bed sores, to how often people get sepsis after surgery.

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Mostly it's pretty serious, life-threatening things, and they also include how well nurses and doctors communicate with patients, and how responsive staff are to patients' needs. Arguably just as important in your health care experience.

The Leapfrog Group announced that the latest scores- Fall 2024- showed that many hospitals have made improvements in their overall patient safety metrics.

Leapfrog found that many hospitals are improving their infection rates, hygiene, and medication safety.

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However, not every hospital received a great score. In fact, 9 Texas hospitals received a dismal "D" score- meaning they were below average in several key areas. Some are very frightening and preventable- like surgeons leaving dangerous items in patients' bodies after procedures.

Sadly, Texas did not rank in the top ten nationwide, and it could be because these hospitals dragged down our average. Here's hoping they make vital improvements to their care soon.