Local hospitals' rankings range in safety report

Three Springfield-area health care systems received grades ranging from an A to a C on a new report ranking hospital safety standards statewide.

Mercy Hospital Springfield scored the highest, with an A grade, followed by Citizens Memorial Hospital with a B and Cox South with a C. The Leapfrog Group has been collecting, analyzing and publishing hospital data on safety and quality for more than 20 years. The report uses more than 30 national performance measures involving patient safety.

Mercy's Springfield hospital improved its performance after B and C grades 2020-22.

Mercy Hospital Springfield scored best in the categories of infections, safety problems and hospital staff. Under hospital staff, for example, the Springfield hospital scored better than the average on effective leadership to prevent errors, qualified nurses, specially trained doctors for ICU patients, communication with doctors and communication with nurses.

“The care of our patients is always our first priority,” said David Argueta, president of Mercy Hospitals Springfield, in a news release. “This honor, achieved by less than one-third of hospitals nationwide, would not be possible without the dedication of our nurses, doctors and our entire care team.”

Citizens Memorial Hospital's B grade also is its best during recent years, with Cs and Ds recorded 2020-22, according to the report. The Bolivar hospital scored best in the category of preventing safety problems, performing better than the average in the areas of harmful events, dangerous bed sores, patient falls and injuries, falls that cause broken hips, collapsed lungs, dangerous blood clots, and air or gas bubbles in the blood.

Cox South had a C score, following Cs and Ds in 2020 and 2021. The hospital scored best in safety problems, with better than average scores in patient falls and injuries, collapsed lungs, dangerous blood clots, and air or gas bubbles in the blood. Areas where the hospital scored worse than the average included death from serious treatable complications, blood leakage and specially trained doctors for ICU patient care.

Cox Medical Center Branson also had a C score.

CoxHealth officials could not be reached for comment by deadline on the report.