Mold Remediation in Edgewood, KY

Kentucky Health News

Most of the Kentucky hospitals graded on a nonprofit group’s twice-a-year report card for patient safety again got a C in the latest report.

The Leapfrog Group, based in Washington, D.C., rates nearly 3,000 general acute-care hospitals based on how well they protect patients. Most of Kentucky’s 126 hospitals are relatively small, so they are not rated by Leapfrog; it rated 62 Kentucky hospitals.

The group does not grade small hospitals with “critical access” status because they don’t have to report quality measures to the federal government; nor does it grade specialty hospitals, government hospitals, or hospitals that don’t have enough publicly reported data.

Leapfrog gave ‘A’ ratings to 10 Kentucky hospitals (St. Elizabeth-Edgewood among them); Kentucky’s percentage of A grades, 16.4%, ranked it 35th among states. That was up two slots from the last report, when it ranked 37th. Leapfrog gave Bs to 19 Kentucky hospitals, Cs to 27 and Ds to 5.

Hospitals getting As were Baptist Health La Grange, Baptist Health Lexington, Deaconess Henderson Hospital, Georgetown Community Hospital, Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, the Medical Center at Bowling Green, Saint Joseph-London, St. Elizabeth Healthcare-Edgewood, T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow, and TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green.

The grades are based on more than 30 measures that indicate how well hospitals protect patients from preventable errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

The spring 2024 report showed 92% of U.S. hospitals have seen improvements in at least one of three infections associated with hospitals. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) decreased by 30%, central line-associated bloodstream infections decreased by 34% and catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased by 30%. This good news comes after a six-year high for those infections was reported in the fall 2022 report.

“While today’s results are promising, patient safety remains a crisis-level hazard in health care. 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,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release.

She added, “According to a summary of peer-reviewed research published in British Medical Journal, an estimated 250,000 people a year die of preventable errors and infections in hospitals, which makes patient safety problems the third leading cause of death in the United States.”

The spring 2024 report also showed some improvements on patient experience measures compared to fall 2023. The release notes that these measures worsened during the pandemic and have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. These measures look at things that have a direct impact on patient safety outcomes, including nurse communication, doctor communication, hospital staff responsiveness, communication about medicine and discharge information.

“Patient experience is very difficult to influence without delivering better care,” Binder said, “so these findings are encouraging.”

The Leapfrog site offers details on the measures for each hospital under the heading Infections. It also provides detailed information under headings titled Problems with Surgery, Practices to Prevent Errors, Safety Problems, and Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff. The information is provided in an easy-to-read, color-coded scale that indicates how the hospital is performing.

The report uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Leapfrog’s own survey and other supplemental data sources. Leapfrog says hospitals are only graded if they have submitted adequate data for evaluation.

The ratings

Georgetown Community Hospital received an A after getting six consecutive Cs.

Baptist Health Lexington has received an A grade for 13 consecutive grading periods. Deaconess Henderson moved up from a B grade in the fall 2023 report. The rest in this top group also received As in the fall.

Shifts up and down

Four Kentucky hospitals moved down to a B after getting an A on the last report, including Norton Audubon Hospital, Norton Brownsboro Hospital, Norton Hospital and Norton Women’s & Children, all in Louisville.

Five Kentucky hospitals moved up to a B after getting a C on the last report, including Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, Baptist Health Richmond, Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, Middlesboro ARH Hospital and the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital.

Other hospitals with B grades are Baptist Health Louisville, Baptist Health Paducah, Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester, Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital in Greenville, Saint Joseph East in Lexington, St. Elizabeth Healthcare-Fort Thomas, St. Elizabeth Healthcare-Florence, U of L Health Shelbyville Hospital, UK HealthCare Good Samaritan Hospital and Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in Fort Campbell.

Five Kentucky hospitals moved up from a D to a C: Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center, Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Jewish Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson and UofL-Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital.

Three hospitals moved down from a B to a C: Kings Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Monroe County Medical Center in Tompkinsville and Whitesburg ARH Hospital.

The remaining 19 hospitals with a C all got Cs on the last report card too.

Taylor Regional Hospital in Campbellsville moved down from a C to a D and Jennie Stuart Health in Hopkinsville moved up to a D after being the only hospital in the fall 2023 report to get an F.

Other hospitals with D grades are Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg, Murray-Calloway County Hospital and Pikeville Medical Center.

No Kentucky hospitals got an F on this report.

Click here to see how your hospital was graded.

Kentucky Health News

Three Kentucky hospitals, in the state’s three largest metropolitan areas, have been named among the nation’s “Best Regional Hospitals” in the annual ranking by the U.S. News & World Report magazine.

The No. 1 hospital in Kentucky is again the University of Kentucky hospital, followed by St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood and Covington, and Baptist Health Louisville.

To make the list, a hospital must offer a full range of services; rank nationally in one of 11 measured specialties, or have seven or more high-performing rankings for procedures and conditions; and have at least three more “high performing” than “below average” rankings for procedures and conditions.

The report offers an overview of 121 Kentucky hospitals with a breakdown of each of the measured categories, according to the services a hospital provides.

UK HealthCare, for the ninth straight year, ranks No. 1 in the state with its Albert B. Chandler Hospital.

In cancer care, UK’s Markey Cancer Center moved up to No. 36 from No. 44 last year. Markey is Kentucky’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, and one of 72 in the nation.

“Together, these recognitions firmly establish Markey among the nation’s top cancer centers, affirming that patients can access world-class cancer care right here in Kentucky,” Dr. Mark Evers, director of the cancer center, said in a news release.

UK’s hospital system also ranked nationally in two other adult specialties: ear, nose and throat and obstetrics and gynecology; and three children specialties: pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, orthopedics and urology.

Six UK HealthCare adult specialties – four more than the previous year’s rankings – also received the “high performing” designation: gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology.

The system also was rated “high performing” for 14 procedures and conditions, including heart attack, heart-bypass surgery, heart failure, colon-cancer surgery, kidney failure, back surgery (spinal fusion), stroke, gynecological-cancer surgery, leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, hip replacement, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung-cancer surgery, pneumonia and prostate-cancer surgery.

Chandler Hospital was also named Best Regional Hospital for Equitable Access, a new category that recognizes success in caring for patients in historically underserved communities. UK HealthCare was one of 98 medical centers nationwide and the only hospital in Kentucky to receive this recognition.

“We diligently examine our data and metrics to help us identify and quantify disparities that are unique to our underserved populations. That allows us to execute targeted strategies and solutions to address these issues. We are truly the university – and the hospital – for Kentucky,” Tukea Talbert, who oversees health equity efforts at UK HealthCare, said in the release.

St Elizabeth’s Edgewood and Covington hospitals ranked high performing in 15 procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon-cancer surgery, lung-cancer surgery, prostate cancer surgery, abdominal aortic-aneurysm repair, heart attack, heart-bypass surgery, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy), hip replacement, knee replacement, COPD and pneumonia.

This is the 11th time that Baptist Health Louisville has ranked No. 1 or tied for that ranking in Jefferson County. The hospital ranked high-performing in nine procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon-cancer surgery, abdominal aortic-aneurysm repair, heart attack, aortic-valve surgery, heart-bypass surgery, hip replacement, knee replacement and COPD. The hospital ranked below average for diabetes.

The 35th annual rankings compared hospitals in 15 specialties and 20 common procedures and conditions. Data from the report came from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association and professional organizations. This year, the report also includes Medicare Advantage data in the rankings, including risk-adjusted mortality rates for its beneficiaries in 11 adult specialties.

Nationally, the report named the top 22 hospitals to the national “Honor Roll.” The top hospitals were not ranked again this year, but were instead listed in alphabetical order. Regionally, 466 hospitals were recognized as “Best Regional Hospitals.” Click here for a FAQ about how and why U.S. News ranks hospitals.

St. Elizabeth Edgewood, a leading healthcare provider in Greater Cincinnati, recently received a prestigious 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

This recognition solidifies St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s commitment to delivering outstanding patient care, excellence in clinical outcomes and exceptional service to the community. As a recipient of the CMS 5-star rating, St. Elizabeth joins an elite group of healthcare organizations recognized for exceptional performance and commitment to quality improvement.

St. Elizabeth is one of only five CMS 5-star hospitals in Kentucky and one of only 483 CMS 5-star hospitals nationwide.

The CMS star ratings are based on a comprehensive evaluation of various quality measures, including patient experience, clinical outcomes, safety, and efficiency of care. Achieving a 5-star rating is a testament to the hospital’s unwavering dedication to providing the highest level of healthcare and meeting the stringent standards set by CMS.

“We are honored to receive this exceptional recognition from CMS,” said Garren Colvin, St. Elizabeth President & CEO. “This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire healthcare team who consistently go above and beyond to provide exceptional care to our patients every day. It also validates our commitment to continuously improving the quality of care we deliver and the overall patient experience we provide.”

The CMS 5-star rating reflects a hospital’s commitment to delivering patient-centered care through evidence-based practices and innovative approaches. At St. Elizabeth, a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals strive to ensure that every patient receives individualized, compassionate care tailored to their unique needs.

The rating serves as a valuable tool for patients and their families, helping them make informed decisions about their healthcare by identifying facilities that excel in superior care and outcomes.

In addition to the CMS 5-star rating, St. Elizabeth has consistently received high accolades from reputable healthcare organizations regarding quality and safety. This achievement underscores the hospital’s ongoing efforts to provide safe, efficient, and high-quality care to the community.

“We express our heartfelt gratitude to the physicians, nurses, other associates, and volunteers whose unwavering dedication and expertise contribute to this remarkable achievement,” says Dr. Jim Horn, Patient Services Officer. “We also extend our appreciation to the community for entrusting their healthcare needs to St. Elizabeth and for the ongoing support we receive.”

For more information, visit www.stelizabeth.com

St. Elizabeth Healthcare