Northwest suburban hospitals get top grades in patient safety

Northwest suburban hospitals all won "A" and "B" grades in the Spring 2016 Hospital Safety Scores released by Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that twice yearly gauges how well hospitals prevent avoidable deaths due to infections and miscommunication. Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights; Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village; St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge all received "A" grades for the spring 2016 assessment; Lutheran General and St. Alexius were noted for "straight As" in every assessment since 2013. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington had a "B" - its first "B" after getting all "A's" previously. Data is compiled from Medicare, the American Hospital Association and from hospitals. In the current rankings, Illinois is 15th. Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Minnesota are the top 5; Nevada, Arkansas, Alaska, District of Columbia and Wyoming tie for last. To read more, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.