Leapfrog safety grade report still has Big 3 Triad hospitals at "B"

The Triad's three main hospitals retained "B" patient safety grades in the spring 2026 report by the Leapfrog Group released last week.

Leapfrog assigns letters from "A" to "F" based on how well the hospitals prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections, and improve patient satisfaction.

Forsyth Medical Center received a "B" for the second consecutive report after being graded at "A" for 13 consecutive reports.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist also was at "B" for the second consecutive report.

Moses Cone Hospital was graded at "B" for the fifth consecutive report, while Wesley Long climbed from "C" to "B."

Medical Park Hospital was graded at "A" for the 21st consecutive report.

For the 14-county Triad and northwest N.C. region, also graded at "A" were Baptist affiliates Davie, High Point, Lexington and Wilkes medical centers, along with Watauga Medical Center.

That's up from two hospitals in the region in the fall 2025 report.

Overall, Atrium had 10 affiliated hospitals graded at "A."

"We are honored to be recognized for our commitment to patient safety - the very foundation of everything we do as an organization," said Steve Smoot, president of Advocate Health's North Carolina and Georgia division.

Meanwhile, Novant Health Inc. had seven affiliated hospitals graded at "A."

"These ‘A' grades reflect strong performance, but more importantly, a strong safety culture - one that consistently delivers remarkable, dependable care that patients can trust," said Dr. David Priest, chief safety and quality officer for Novant.

"Our standardized processes, real-time data and practical tools help teams learn quickly, track progress and continuously improve, ultimately equipping them to strengthen the care we provide and drive strong outcomes for the patients we serve."

All Cone affiliated hospitals received a "B" grade that includes Alamance Regional and Annie Penn, which improved from a "C" grade.

"While we are happy about those improvements, Cone Health and our more than 13,000 team members won't be satisfied with anything less than straight A's," the system said in a statement.

"Leapfrog's ratings reflect historical CMS data. Since that time, we have strengthened safety practices across our hospitals, and patient safety today is stronger as a result."

What is Leapfrog?

Leapfrog was founded by larger employers and private healthcare purchasers. Its overall and individual category grades can reflect multiple years of review.

Leapfrog researchers said that when compared with a hospital rated as "A," patients face on average a 35% greater risk of avoidable death at a "B" hospital, an 88% greater risk at a "C" hospital and a 92% greater risk at a "D" or "F" hospital.

The analysis evaluates five primary patient-safety categories: infections; problems with surgery; safety problems; practices to prevent errors; and doctors, nurses and hospital staff. The performance in each category is based on several subcategories in each area.

Leapfrog evaluates five primary patient-safety categories: infections; problems with surgery; safety problems; practices to prevent errors; and doctors, nurses and hospital staff.

The performance in each category is based on several subcategories in each area.

For Forsyth Medical Center, its performance in the five primary categories was: infections (six subcategories: six average); problems with surgery (three above average, one average, three below average); safety problems (four above average, one average, two below average); practices to prevent errors (four above average, one average, one below average); and doctors, nurses and hospital staff (four above average, one average, one below average).

For Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, its performance in the five primary categories was: infections (six subcategories: one above average, four average, one below average); problems with surgery (five above average, two average); safety problems (two above average, two average, three below average); practices to prevent errors (four above average, two average); and doctors, nurses and hospital staff (four above average, two average).

For Moses Cone, its performance in the five primary categories was: infections (four above average, one average, one below average); problems with surgery (two above average, three average, two below average); safety problems (two above average, five below average); practices to prevent errors (four above average, two average; and doctors, nurses and hospital staff (four above average, two average).

Encouraging improvements

Leah Binder, president and chief executive of Leapfrog, said that even after 26 years of providing patient safety grades, the nonprofit continues to evolve its criteria that includes looking at how consolidation impacts patient safety.

Since 2017, there has been nine hospital acquisitions involving all three major Triad healthcare systems, foremost:

• Novant spending $5.3 billion in 2021 to acquire New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington;

• Atrium acquiring Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in 2020 that included a $3.4 billion capital investment pledge; and

• Risant Health taking over Cone in 2024 that includes a $1.7 billion capital investment pledge.

That acquisition count could have been larger if the Federal Trade Commission had not opposed Novant's $320 million offer to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Davis Regional Psychiatric Hospital of Statesville. Novant ended its bid in June 2024.

"We want to understand if system leadership accelerates patient safety or not," Binder said.

Binder said that "the good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives.

"But not all hospitals are the same. That's why it's so important for people to consult safety grades and do their research when choosing a hospital."

That appears to be case for the Wilmington community where residents have raised concerns about New Hanover Regional Medical Center having a "C' grade for four consecutive reports and what the system plans to do to improve the grade.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.