A comparison of data from CMS and The Leapfrog Group suggests that a hospital's strong performance in one national quality rating system does not necessarily mean it will be a top performer in another.
Leapfrog updated its spring safety grades May 1, recognizing 15 hospitals that have received an "A" grade in every consecutive update since 2012. Of these hospitals, only eight received a five-star rating from CMS. Similar discrepancies are seen across Leapfrog's "F" hospitals. While two did receive one star — the lowest possible rating — another five received two stars, and one hospital earned four stars.
Leapfrog assigned letter grades to nearly 3,000 acute care hospitals based on 22 patient safety measures from CMS including accidents, healthcare-acquired infections and preventable errors. Leapfrog also collects information from hospitals that complete voluntary hospital surveys and other sources. Data reporting periods range from July 2020 to June 2023, depending on the measure.
CMS updated its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings last July, assigning a star rating to more than 4,500 hospitals based on 46 hospital quality measures. These are divided into five quality categories: safety of care, mortality, patient experience, readmission rates and timely and effective care. Data reporting periods range from July 2018 to March 2022, depending on the measure.
The CMS star ratings for Leapfrog's spring 2024 straight-"A" hospitals:
Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle (Columbus, Miss.) — Three stars
Saint Anne's Hospital (Fall River, Mass.) — Three stars
Kaiser Permanente Orange County-Anaheim (Calif.) Medical Center* — Four stars
Rose Medical Center (Denver) — Four stars
Sentara CarePlex Hospital (Hampton, Va.) — Four stars
Sentara Leigh Hospital (Norfolk, Va.) — Four stars
University of Chicago Medical Center — Four stars
AdventHealth Daytona Beach (Fla.) — Five stars
Elmhurst (Ill.) Memorial Hospital — Five stars
French Hospital Medical Center (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) — Five stars
Inova Loudoun Hospital (Leesburg, Va.) — Five stars
Mayo Clinic Hospital (Phoenix) — Five stars
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (Winfield, Ill.) — Five stars
Rex Hospital (Raleigh, N.C.) — Five stars
Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle) — Five stars
The CMS star ratings for Leapfrog's spring 2024 "F" hospitals:
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (Sun Valley, Calif.) — One star
Southwest Medical Center (Liberal, Kan.) — One star
Providence St. Mary Medical Center (Apple Valley, Calif.) – Two stars
Regional West Medical Center (Scottsbluff, Neb.) — Two stars
University of New Mexico Hospital (Albuquerque) — Two stars
Arnot Ogden Medical Center (Elmira, N.Y.) — Two stars
Erie County Medical Center (Buffalo, N.Y.) — Two stars
Mission Community Hospital (Panorama City, Calif.) – Four stars
Halifax Health Medical Center-Port Orange (Fla.) — Star rating not available
St. Joseph's Hospital (Elmira, N.Y.) — Star rating not available
*This hospital's star rating only includes data reported on inpatient services.