How Peoria-area hospitals rate when it comes to safety, patient care, according to report

Peoria's three major hospitals each received a "C" rating for safety from a major nonprofit seeking to achieve greater transparency in the nation's health care system.

OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center, along with Carle Health's Methodist and Proctor hospitals, each received the average rating in The Leapfrog Group's spring safety grades of the nation's hospitals.

The grades are determined on data provided by hospitals and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on 31 different measures of hospital safety, from how hospitals deal with infections and surgery to how their staff communicates with each other.

Outside Peoria, Carle Health Pekin Hospital also received a "C" grade, with Canton's Graham Hospital coming in with a below-average "D." OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg received an above-average "B," the highest among hospitals in the Journal Star coverage area.

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How did Peoria hospitals rank for safety?

OSF St. Francis scored better than average in how it dealt with things like MRSA infections, not leaving dangerous objects in patients' bodies, preventing broken hips, collapsed lungs and air embolisms; in ordering medications via computer software and administering them safely and in communicating well to prevent errors. It also scored above average in providing specialized care for people in intensive care units.

However, the hospital scored below average in how it dealt with other infections, such as those in blood and urinary tracts, along with post-surgical problems such as sepsis and site infections in the colon. It was also graded below average on accidental cuts or tears, blood leakage, surgical wound splits, and death from complications considered to be treatable.

It also scored poorly on preventing complications after surgery or childbirth, on proper handwashing procedures and on having effective leadership to prevent errors.

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Methodist ranked highly on dealing with MRSA and urinary tract infections, in preventing surgical problems such as leaving dangerous objects in the body, keeping splits closed, blood leakage, breathing problems and accidental cuts and on preventing harmful events post-surgery, collapsed lungs and air embolisms.

Specifically, it ranked poorly on proper practices to prevent errors, such as having good computer systems to track medications and on handwashing procedures. It also had one of the poorest scores on having specialized care for those in ICUs and didn't report on their communication and leadership structure.

Proctor did not provide data on some infection issues like MRSA, blood infections and surgical site infections in the colon, but it did rank well in specific safety issues such as preventing harmful events, bed sores, patient falls and embolisms. It did not rank highly in preventing sepsis, collapsed lungs and in proper computer procedures for patient medications.

Rankings for hospitals in Pekin, Canton and Galesburg

Unlike their Peoria counterparts, Carle's Pekin facility did rank well in terms of administering prescriptions, but it still ranked below average in their computer software and in communicating about medications. It also ranked poorly in handwashing procedures and in preventing patient falls.

Graham Hospital did well in preventing harmful events post-surgery, breathing problems, embolism and leaving objects in the patient's body, but not so well in things such as preventing infections like sepsis or clostridium difficile (C. diff), preventing patient falls and broken hips, having good computer software for patient's medications and having specially trained care for ICU patients.

St. Mary in Galesburg ranked well in preventing MRSA infections, serious breathing problems post-surgery, not leaving objects in patients' bodies, preventing harmful bed sores, complications from surgery and embolisms, along with having good computer systems for medications and effective leadership in preventing errors.

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However, it ranked below-average on preventing sepsis and C. diff, treating collapsed lungs, handwashing procedures and teamwork in preventing errors.

OSF HealthCare said in a statement that it is committed to improvement, but added that the results of a survey like this can lag from when it was taken.

"OSF supports transparency about quality and safety information such as that provided through the Leapfrog grades and is committed to continuous improvement," the statement said. "However, these results can lag, and are not reflective of current results. We are proud of the work our Mission Partners (employees) do every day to ensure safe and high-quality care."

Carle Health also released the following statement about its grade:"Leapfrog letter grades are not a comprehensive measure of the quality or consistency of care provided at Carle Health Hospitals. We made the decision to not participate in this safety rating system and have not provided full data for it to measure against, which is a significant factor in these rankings. Carle Health is dedicated to the safety and quality of care of everyone we serve to improve health outcomes and we have chosen more robust quality metrics to help us facilitate continuous improvement."

Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, said that the figures, both for Peoria-area hospitals and others nationwide, should be a motivator to improve patient safety and put more attention on their procedures.

"Patient safety remains a crisis-level hazard in health care," Binder said. "Some hospitals are much better than others at protecting patients from harm, and that’s why we make the Hospital Safety Grade available to the public and why we encourage all hospitals to focus more attention on safety."