MACON, Ga. — A national healthcare analyst says Navicent Health Baldwin doesn't have enough qualified nurses or intensive-care doctors and has poor communication and leadership.
That means they're among the 10% worst hospitals nationwide for keeping patients safe from errors, accidents, injuries and infection.
Meanwhile, the national group also gave Baldwin's sister hospital, the Medical Center in Macon, a C grade for the third time in a row.
Leapfrog says that means the Macon hospital does a below-average job of keeping their patients safe.
Twice a year, the company releases its national hospital safety ratings. They are based partly on accident and injury statistics reported to the federal government and partly on surveys.
Leapfrog says they compile the ratings to help people make better choices about healthcare and to communicate with doctors and hospital staff about safety.
They also graded five other Central Georgia hospitals:
- Fairview Park Hospital was rated A, for the fifth time since 2016.
- Coliseum Medical Centers received an A, for the third rating period in a row.
- Crisp Regional Hospital, Cordele, was also rated A.
- Houston Medical Center got a B score. Since 2016, Leapfrog has given them four B and four A scores.
- Coliseum Northside, also received a C grade. Since fall 2018, their grade has dropped from A to B to C.
Leapfrog rated more than 2,600 hospitals nationwide. They say 33 percent earned an “A,” 25 percent earned a “B,” 34 percent earned a “C,” 8 percent a “D” and just under 1 percent an “F.”
They also rated 74 Georgia hospitals; Navicent Baldwin was one of four D grades. No Georgia hospitals got an F.
Leapfrog rated the Milledgeville hospital poorly for topics like staff hand-washing, communication, patient falls and injuries, staff responsiveness, "staff work together to prevent errors," and "effective leadership to prevent errors."
Navicent Health, which runs the Macon Medical Center, purchased the former Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Medical Center got poor grades for topics like preventing MRSA staph inspections, colon-surgery infections, leaving dangerous objects inside patients' bodies, "death from serious treatable complications,:" "accidental cuts and tears," hand-washing, communication, patients falls and injuries, specially-trained intensive care doctors, staff communications and responsiveness.
Leapfrog says the most important hospital safety factors are staff-hand-washing policies, procedures to avoid blood infections and safety measures to prevent patient falls.
They say as many as 440,000 people die every year from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections, and one out of every 25 patients develops an infection while in the hospital.
Navicent sent us this statement in response to questions about the Macon and Baldwin scores:
“While safety and quality data scores can help healthcare consumers make important decisions about their care, patients should use all available resources at their disposal in order to make the most informed decision. The latest Leapfrog rating system is just one tool among many patients can use when choosing a hospital. There are a number of organizations that provide ratings and quality data, and these scores should be compared. The Medical Center, Navicent Health and Navicent Health Baldwin are deeply committed to quality and patient safety. It is also important to remember that Leapfrog grades must be interpreted within context – for example, some of the data used is more than two years old and may not reflect a hospital’s continuous improvement efforts. We encourage healthcare consumers to compare data scores and also speak with their doctors, friends and family about the quality of care received at Navicent Health when making decisions about where to receive treatment.”
Click here to see the grades for hospitals around Georgia.
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