Watchdog report finds falls, infections among issues at some central PA hospitals
A national watchdog group recently scored some central Pennsylvania hospitals below average for safety metrics, including infections, death from “serious treatable complications” and patient falls.
The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that provides ratings and safety data for hospitals, and it recently released grades for nearly 3,000 short-term, acute care hospitals across the country. The organization updates grades twice each year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
Across the U.S., some safety metrics are seeing performance improvements after pandemic-era declines.
“We are seeing that the patient experience and the health care-acquired infections are continuing to improve,” Leapfrog Group program analyst Alex Campione said in an April 28 interview with McClatchy.
But although national averages are improving for some metrics, patient experience measures have yet to make a full recovery, Campione said. Additionally, some central Pennsylvania hospitals scored below average this spring for infections and communication between doctors and patients, a key factor in patient experience.
A health care-acquired or “associated” infection is one that wasn’t present when a patient was admitted to the hospital, but developed due to poor infection control.
Leapfrog calculates its hospital safety grades based on a combination of a voluntary survey and mandatory reporting from third-party sources, such as the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Out of five local hospitals, four responded to Leapfrog’s voluntary self-reporting survey. Penn Highlands Huntingdon officials declined to participate.
“Transparency is key. The Leapfrog hospital survey is voluntary, unlike some of those other measures that we include that are from CMS, and I think that when a hospital does do our survey, it shows that they’re committed to being transparent about performance at their hospital, for better or for worse. It keeps them accountable for the care that they’re providing annually,” Campione said.
Pennsylvania’s performance declined slightly in the state rankings for this spring, but remained above the national average, moving from 9th to 10th in the U.S. for the greatest percentage of “A” hospitals. Out of five local hospitals, one received a lower grade this spring compared to the fall, and none received higher grades.
Here’s what to know about how central Pennsylvania hospitals performed in Leapfrog’s latest grading cycle, plus how to interpret ratings and which areas should be most heavily considered.
Mount Nittany Medical Center
Spring 2025 grade: A
Fall 2024 grade: A
Spring 2024 grade: C
Here are the areas in which Mount Nittany Medical Center scored below average this spring:
Surgical site infection after colon surgery
Death from serious treatable complications
Blood leakage
“Every patient who walks through our doors deserves exceptional care in a safe environment,” Kathleen Rhine, president and CEO of Mount Nittany Health, said in a press release. “Earning an ‘A’ grade is a powerful reflection of our team’s commitment to safety, quality, and continuous improvement. I’m deeply proud of their efforts and dedication to our mission of ‘Healthier people, stronger community.’”
Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
Spring 2025 grade: A
Fall 2024 grade: A
Spring 2024 grade: A
Leapfrog recognized Geisinger Lewistown Hospital as a “straight A” facility for maintaining an “A” grade for at least five consecutive grading cycles. Out of all eligible hospitals, 12% made the cut for straight As.
Here are the areas in which Geisinger Lewistown Hospital scored below average this spring:
Infection in the blood
Harmful events
Dangerous bed sores
Collapsed lung
Data was unavailable about Geisinger Lewistown Hospital’s performance for two metrics, death from serious treatable complications and surgical site infection after colon surgery.
The unavailability was not related to any lack of reporting. Reasons for data being unavailable may include that the service isn’t something a particular hospital provides or because the hospital didn’t have enough patients or cases to report data for a particular condition or procedure, according to Leapfrog.
“This prestigious recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality of care to our patients,” Dr. Sabrina Sumner, chief medical officer of Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, wrote in a May 8 emailed statement to the Centre Daily Times. “Our dedicated teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that patient safety remains our top priority. This achievement is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and the collaborative spirit that drives our hospital forward. We’re grateful to our patients for their trust and support, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and care.”
Conemaugh Nason Medical Center
Spring 2025 grade: A
Fall 2024 grade: A
Spring 2024 grade: A
Conemaugh Nason Medical Center scored below average for one metric this spring: specially trained doctors care for intensive care unit patients. The hospital received a 5 out of 100 for this metric, the lowest score given.
Data was unavailable about Conemaugh Nason Medical Center’s performance for four metrics, unrelated to any lack of reporting.
“We are incredibly proud to receive this recognition,” Michelle Buttry, chief operating officer of Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, stated in a May 7 emailed press release. “Our entire team — from front-line caregivers to support staff, physicians, volunteers, and board members — shares a unified commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety and quality care for every patient, every day.”
UPMC Altoona
Spring 2025 grade: C
Fall 2024 grade: B
Spring 2024 grade: B
Here are the areas in which UPMC Altoona scored below average this spring:
C. diff infection
Death from serious treatable complications
Accidental cuts and tears
Harmful events
Dangerous bed sores
Patient falls and injuries
Communication about medicines
Nursing and bedside care for patients (UPMC Altoona received a 40 out of 100 for this metric; the average was 77.07.)
Communication with doctors (UPMC Altoona received an 88 for this metric, just below the average of 89.91.)
Responsiveness of hospital staff
“We are grateful for Leapfrog’s feedback and the opportunity it presents for our continued growth and improvement at UPMC Altoona. We remain committed to safety and excellence as our driving force as we strive to provide the highest quality care for every patient we serve,” UPMC Altoona spokesperson Sarah Deist wrote in a May 9 emailed statement to the CDT.
Penn Highlands Huntingdon
Spring 2025 grade: D
Fall 2024 grade: D
Spring 2024 grade: C
Here are the areas in which Penn Highlands Huntingdon scored below average this spring:
C. diff infection (Penn Highlands Huntingdon received the worst score given for this metric.)
Patient falls and injuries
Communication about medicines
Communication about discharge
Communication with doctors (Penn Highlands Huntingdon received an 88.)
Data was unavailable about Penn Highlands Huntingdon’s performance for 13 metrics, some due to a lack of reporting and some were unavailable for other reasons. Leapfrog lists the hospital’s grades for four of these unavailable data points as the lowest scores given; they are not listed as “below average” categories here since actual data is not available.
Penn Highlands Huntingdon officials were not immediately available for comment.
Lawsuits over Leapfrog’s grading
Some hospital officials have criticized the way Leapfrog calculates its safety grades. Five hospitals from one Florida network filed a lawsuit against the organization April 30, calling Leapfrog’s methodology “flawed,” medical industry trade publication Becker’s Hospital Review reported May 1.
Three of the five hospitals included in the lawsuit received “F” grades, and the other two each received a “D.” In the spring 2025 grading cycle, 32% of U.S. hospitals received As, 24% got Bs, 35% were given Cs, 7% got a D and less than 1% received an F.
In an April 30 statement, Leapfrog president and CEO Leah Binder called the lawsuit “frivolous.”
“When we look at these hospitals’ results from Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), we see preventable suffering and death far exceeding the national average, and even the national average is too high. Instead of using their resources to file frivolous lawsuits, they should be improving how their patients are treated. That is the leadership communities expect from their hospitals,” Binder’s statement read, in part.
In an additional statement May 2, Leapfrog officials highlighted areas in which the hospitals involved in the lawsuit performed below national averages, and also mentioned two previous lawsuits from other entities.
Saint Anthony Hospital, which is based in Chicago, sued Leapfrog Group in 2017 over a grade they called “inaccurate.” They filed the lawsuit the day before the grade was published (hospital officials receive them in advance of public release) and Leapfrog officials agreed not to publish it, though they said publishing the grade would not have constituted a false statement.
A Cook County Circuit Clerk Judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2018, Becker’s Hospital Review reported.
Florida-based NCH Healthcare System sued Leapfrog in 2019 to try to prevent the organization from publishing their “D” grade, saying they didn’t participate in the voluntary survey and received a low grade as a result. The hospital system ended up dropping the lawsuit.
“Our safety grades really work because we grade all eligible hospitals in the country, not just a subset of those ones that choose to give us data,” Campione said.
How are hospital grades calculated?
Safety grades are calculated using up to 22 national safety measures from the Leapfrog survey, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other data sources. The full methodology is available online and is peer-reviewed and published by the Journal of Patient Safety.
Grades are composed 50% by process and structural measures and 50% by outcome measures. The scoring scales differ by the chosen measure.
Leapfrog emphasizes you should not refuse emergency care based on hospital ratings. The group intends the scores to be used when planning things like childbirth, surgery referrals or chronic illness treatment.
Campione said when patients have a choice, an “A” hospital is the best way to go.
“We know that those ‘A’ hospitals are doing a better job than the ‘B’ hospitals, and the ‘B’ hospitals are doing a better job than ‘C’ or ‘D’ hospitals in reducing infections, providing a safer environment, improving patient safety,” Campione said.
Campione added if she was choosing a hospital for planned care, she would particularly consider scores for patient experience metrics, such as communication with doctors and nurses.
“I think that the patient experience is actually very important,” Campione said. “It’s a great indicator of how comfortable patients felt talking to nurses and doctors, how available they were, and it can have a huge impact on whether mistakes are made.”
Other areas you should pay special attention to when choosing a hospital include hand washing, infection in the blood and patient falls, Leapfrog’s website says.
You should also consider how far off your hospital was from the average for any given standard. When evaluating a hospital, you can see the highest and lowest scores given, which helps in weighing a value. Depending on the measure, the “below average” category can include hospitals that scored just 0.01 points under goal, along with facilities with the lowest possible score.
For hospitals that responded to Leapfrog’s survey, there’s often information available about which areas the hospital has improved in and which areas are not going in the right direction.
A hospital being ungraded does not denote a lack of safety. Ratings are often unavailable for smaller providers, children’s hospitals, surgical centers and critical access hospitals. Leapfrog allows you to search for hospitals by name, location or state.
There’s an online search tool where you can find information about more hospitals.
