What are the best and worst South Florida hospitals for patient safety? See the rankings
How safe is your hospital?
A national watchdog has analyzed hospital data for more than 20 years, giving A to F grades to hospitals nationwide twice a year for patient safety.
Florida hospitals are doing a good job with patient safety, with the state just behind California for the highest number of hospitals recognized by the Leapfrog Group as a “Top Hospital.” But some South Florida hospitals have some work to do.
More than half the hospitals in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area received a “C” or lower in preventing medical errors, accidents and infections in the fall 2024 patient safety report card.
The good news is that one of the region’s “A” hospitals, Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami, did well enough in patient safety to earn a “Top Hospital” recognition in December.
“In “A” hospitals, leadership is involved in regular safety huddles and works to create a culture where staff at all levels feel comfortable speaking up when an error or near-miss occurs,” Missy Danforth, senior vice president of healthcare ratings at The Leapfrog Group, told the Miami Herald in an email.
Leapfrog’s next report will be released in May.
The nonprofit Leapfrog uses more than 20 factors, including rates of preventable errors, injuries and infections to help patients pick the best hospital near them for care. Some of the collected data is voluntarily reported by hospitals to Leapfrog, and other data is collected from other sources such as from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Here’s what to know about the grades and rankings:
South Florida’s Leapfrog patient safety grades
Eleven hospitals in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties scored an “A” in the report, slightly better then in the previous report released in May. Nine hospitals got a B, 25 got a C, and three got a D. This time around, three hospitals in Palm Beach County received “F” grades.
“Florida ranks number 13 among all states for percentage of “A” graded hospitals, with 37% of hospitals in the state achieving the “A” Grade. In South Florida specifically, we see a mix of Grades. There are “A” graded hospitals and as low as “F” graded hospitals,” Danforth said.
“Patients in “D” or “F” hospitals are twice as likely to die from preventable errors compared to those in “A” hospitals. Many hospitals with poor grades improve over time, showing strong commitment to keeping patients safe from preventable harm,” she said. “Patients and families should communicate with doctors and hospital leaders about the importance of prioritizing patient safety.”
The rankings don’t include specialty hospitals, including children’s hospitals such as Nicklaus near South Miami or Joe DiMaggio in Hollywood. It also doesn’t include surgical centers, critical access hospitals and veteran hospitals, including the Miami VA. Leapfrog said a hospital could be excluded from the report for various reasons. They include not being required to publicly report their safety record to the federal government, being too small or lacking the necessary data.
Here’s a look at how South Florida hospitals did:
How did Miami-Dade and Broward’s public hospitals score?
▪ Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Jackson North, Jackson West in Doral and Jackson South, all part of Miami-Dade’s public hospital system, kept their “C” grades.
Jackson Health System, in an emailed statement to the Miami Herald, said patient safety is its highest priority.
“Over the last year, we have focused on implementing best practices in quality and safety at all of our facilities, and have seen gradual improvement. These grades reflect one-step forward as we make Jackson one of safest, highest quality healthcare systems in Miami-Dade County,” Jackson Health said in its statement. “We pay close attention to these safety scores and use them as a tool to evaluate ways in which we can further improve and implement lasting change throughout our organization.”
▪ Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach kept its “A” grade. Broward Health Coral Springs kept its “B” grade. Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Imperial Point kept their “C” grades.
Broward Health, in an emailed statement to the Miami Herald, said its proud of Broward Health North retaining its “A” and being the “only hospital in its primary service area” to earn an “A” in Leapfrog’s most recent report.
“The system remains dedicated to the continuous improvement of patient safety and care quality,” Broward Health said in a statement. “These Leapfrog scores also provide valuable insights for growth and reinforce our commitment to ensuring the highest levels of safety, quality and satisfaction for all patients.”
▪ Memorial Hospital Miramar kept its A. Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Memorial Regional Hospital South in Hollywood, Memorial Hospital Pembroke Pines and Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines kept their “C” grades.
Best and worst South Florida hospitals for patient safety?
Here are the hospitals that scored an “A” grade:
▪ Baptist Health Homestead Hospital, 975 Baptist Way, Homestead, kept its “A” grade.
▪ Baptist Health South Miami Hospital, 6200 SW 73rd St., kept its “A” grade.
▪ Baptist Health West Kendall Baptist Hospital, 9555 SW 162nd Ave., kept its “A” grade.
Other Baptist Health South Florida hospitals scored B’s and C’s.
“Our mission is to provide high-quality and compassionate care in a welcoming and safe environment. We appreciate programs like Leapfrog and their efforts to help customers make decisions while holding healthcare systems to high standards,” Baptist Health said in a statement. “We recognize that there are always opportunities for improvement, and remain committed to providing the best possible care for our patients.”
▪ Broward Health North, 201 E Sample Rd. in Deerfield Beach, kept its “A” grade.
▪ HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, 20900 Biscayne Blvd., boosted its score from a “B” to an “A.”
▪ HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, 11750 SW 40th St., kept its “A” grade.
▪ HCA Florida Westside Hospital, 8201 W Broward Blvd. in Plantation, kept its “A” grade.
HCA Florida’s other hospitals in the region and elsewhere in the state received scores ranging from A-C’s. One HCA Florida hospital in Citrus County received a “D.”
“Our hospitals regularly measure and report hundreds of quality and patient safety data points, directly related to patient outcomes, across multiple patient populations,” HCA Florida Healthcare told the Miami Herald in a statement. “We recognize the importance of measuring quality and safety in patient care and are working hard to improve in certain areas. Our physicians, nurses, and colleagues are dedicated to providing exceptional care for our patients.”
▪ Jupiter Medical Center, 1210 S. Old Dixie Hwy., kept its “A” grade.
▪ Larkin Community Hospital, 7031 SW 62nd Ave. in South Miami, kept its “A” grade. The teaching hospital was also awarded a “Top Hospital” award by Leapfrog in December for being one of the state’s top-performing hospitals in patient safety and care.
READ MORE: These Miami-area hospitals and surgery centers are the best in the state, rankings say
▪ Memorial Hospital Miramar, 1901 SW 172nd Ave., kept its “A” grade.
▪ Hialeah Hospital, 651 E 25th St., boosted its score from a “B” to an “A.”
Here are the hospitals that scored a “D” or worse:
▪ Delray Medical Center, 5352 Linton Blvd. in Delray Beach, saw its score lower from a “D” to an “F.”
▪ Good Samaritan Medical Center, 1309 N. Flagler Dr. in West Palm Beach, saw its score worsen from a “C” to an “F.”
▪ Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Rd. in Miami Beach, kept its “D” grade.
▪ Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, 3360 Burns Rd., saw its score worsen from a “C” to an F.”
▪ St. Mary’s Medical Center, 901 45th St. in West Palm Beach, saw its score lower from a “C” to a “D.”
▪ West Boca Medical Center, 21644 State Rd. 7, kept its “D” grade.
Check your South Florida’s hospital patient safety grade
How did your South Florida hospital do in patient safety? Take a look at the chart below:
Visit hospitalsafetygrade.org/ to learn more about your hospital’s grade and to see how other Florida hospitals scored.
What the Leapfrog patient safety hospital report shows
▪ LeapFrog said it grades nearly 3,000 hospitals in the country twice a year “on the very basics of medical care, such as hand-washing, entering prescriptions through a computer, and the availability of highly trained nurses.” While you can look at a hospital’s overall grade, you can also get a more detailed look at how your hospital ranked in categories including infections; problems with surgery; safety problems; practices to prevent errors; and how well doctors, nurses and hospital staff respond and communicate.
▪ LeapFrog recommends people consider how well a hospital scores in hand-washing, reducing blood infections and patient falls when picking a place to seek care. Of course, if you have an emergency, go to your nearest hospital for care.
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
