Our Pine Tree State has some of the best and most selfless front-line professionals in the country. However, this ranking causes some concern.
We’re not here to throw salt in the wound or kick somebody while they’re down. Our purpose is simply to report the facts as they emerge, particularly when it comes to something as critical as patient safety.
If one of our hospitals obtains a lower-than-average grade, the community should be informed. Most importantly, we hope that this information spurs change for the betterment of everybody.
So, with that in mind, who is grading our hospitals on patient safety, and what criteria are they evaluating?
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only ranking system that focuses solely on hospital safety, allowing consumers to rapidly locate the safest hospitals with letter grades ranging from A to F.
This system was developed in 2012 to address the number of people who die annually due to preventable hospital mistakes.
The Leapfrog Group evaluates hospitals based on how frequently patients are to have accidents, injuries, errors, or harm during their stay, with the purpose of providing consumers with critical information to help them make informed healthcare decisions.
Now that we’ve clarified that, which hospital in Maine received a ‘D’ grade for patient safety?
According to The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grading system, Cary Medical Center in Caribou achieved a ‘D’ score for Fall 2024. This is a dip from the hospital’s ‘C’ grade in Spring 2024, and even worse than the ‘A’ grade it received in Spring 2021.
To sum up, Cary Medical Center in Caribou is the only hospital in Maine to receive a grade lower than a ‘C.’
Again, we would want to clarify that we are only reporting what The Leapfrog Group has published.