Triangle hospitals earn top safety grades in new report. Here’s what to know

The Leapfrog Group released its Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades, ranking North Carolina eighth in the nation for hospital safety. Several Raleigh-area hospitals earned A grades, while others slipped from previous rankings.

FULL STORY: These are the Triangle’s best hospitals, report says. See the full 2026 list

Here are key takeaways:

• North Carolina tied with Maryland for 8th safest state for healthcare, a drop from 5th place in Leapfrog’s November report. Connecticut now ranks as the safest state.
• Leapfrog assigns letter grades from A to F twice a year, evaluating hospitals on 32 safety measures including prevention of medical errors, illnesses, injuries and infections.
• A Florida judge recently ordered Leapfrog to remove poor safety grades for several Florida hospitals, calling the methodology misleading and “punitive” for systems that don’t participate.
• Raleigh has two “Straight A” hospitals this spring, a designation given to hospitals that received A grades for five or more consecutive grading rounds.
• WakeMed Cary Campus, a “Straight A” hospital in 2025, dropped to a B grade in the latest report.
• Wilson Medical Center received the only C grade in the area, while Granville Medical Center received the only D.
• UNC Health CEO Dr. Cristy Page said in a news release: “We are proud of our teammates and physicians who work incredibly hard to provide safe and outstanding care for patients from across North Carolina.”

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Eva Flowe

The Charlotte Observer

Eva Flowe is a North Carolina native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She joined the Charlotte Observer as part of the NC service journalism team in April 2026.