By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Leapfrog Group recently released its fourth round of Hospital Safety Scores, and only 3.5% of hospitals significantly improved their grades since the third round was released in May, according to an article on The Advisory Board Company website.

For these latest scores, the Leapfrog Group assigned letter grades —"A, B, C, D, or F"— to 2,539 hospitals based on their performance on 28 safety measures. 

Since Leapfrog's May report, the group has added two new safety measures to its score methodology: rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections and rates of surgical-site infections for major colon surgery.

In the latest report:

• 813 hospitals received an "A" (compared to 780 hospitals in May)

• 661 received a "B" (compared to 638)

• 893 received a "C" (compared to 938)

• 150 received a "D" (compared to 148)

• 22 received an "F" (compared to 16)

While 20% of hospitals improved their grades, Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said the scores revealed "little improvement in safety overall," according to the article.

The top five states were:

1. Maine (80% of hospitals received an "A")

2. Massachusetts (76%)

3. South Dakota (67%)

4. Illinois (53%)

5. Virginia (48%)

The bottom five states were:

1. New Mexico (0% of hospitals received an "A") 

1. District of Columbia (0%)

3. Nebraska (6%)

4. Arkansas (8%)

4. New Hampshire (8%)

Read the article.