LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A new report is shedding light on the quality and safety of central Kentucky hospitals.

Researchers with the Leapfrog Group have been collecting data for more than 20 years now providing an overall grade for hospitals. They said more than 400,000 people die needlessly every year due to hospital safety problems like medication mix-ups and preventable infections.

Here in central Kentucky nearly every healthcare facility received a “C” grade from the group.
Baptist Health Lexington and Clark Regional Medical Center were the outliers receiving top marks.

Leaders at Baptist Health said they’re proud of their “A” grade, calling it a reflection of their hard work.

Chief Medical Officer at Baptist Health in Lexington Dr. Lee Dossett said, “We put a lot of effort into that from doing a daily safety huddle with the key stakeholders in the hospital every morning to talk about active issues, to bring up where we are with some of this data and like the infections and safety events and things like that.”

Saint Joseph Mount Sterling did the worst in Leapfrog’s spring report receiving a below-average “D” grade.

We reached out to UK Healthcare for a response to today’s report and they said,

“Like many academic medical centers, UK HealthCare — which includes UK Chandler Hospital, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, and UK Kentucky Children’s Hospital — serves a disproportionate number of patients with complex medical needs. As the state’s #1 hospital now for seven years running, providing compassionate, high-quality care for patients from the Commonwealth and beyond is our top priority. We work with a number of organizations on quality rankings, such as U.S. News & World Report and Vizient, where we are a top performer. There is always room to improve, and we will continue to invest in efforts that improve the health and safety of our patients.”