When a person becomes injured or suffers an illness, they are putting their trust in the hospital or medical facility treating them. Unfortunately, as borne out by the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed each year, that is not always the case. As a way to help provide patients with a resource to determine which medical facilities in their area have potentially dangerous issues, the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety publishes a Hospital Safety Guide that grades thousands of hospitals across the country. The guide is published twice a year.
The categories that each facility is graded on are:
- Infections
- Problems with surgery
- Practices to prevent errors
- Safety problems
- Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff
The grades are all peer-reviewed and compiled by a panel of safety experts using national performance measures and surveys. The grade the facility receives represents its overall performance and its ability to keep patients from exposure to medical errors and preventable injuries. The panel uses a grading system of A, B, C, D, or F.
Preventable hospital errors are one of the leading causes of death in this country, killing anywhere from 160,000 to 400,000 victims each year (depending on the study). According to the publishers of this guide, a patient who is treated at a facility that has a D or F rating has a 92 percent higher risk of dying from a safety issue than a patient who is treated at a hospital with an A rating.
The following list is how Virginia’s hospitals were graded for the fall publication:
Grade A
- Augusta Health
- Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital
- Buchanan General Hospital
- Carilion New River Valley Medical Center
- Clinch Valley Medical Center
- Henrico Doctors’ Hospital
- Inova Alexandria Hospital
- Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
- Inova Fairfax Hospital
- Inova Loudoun Hospital
- Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
- John Randolph Medical Center
- LewisGale Hospital – Alleghany
- LewisGale Hospital – Montgomery
- LewisGale Hospital – Pulaski
- LewisGale Medical Center
- Novant Health UVA Health System Culpeper Medical Center
- Parham Doctors’ Hospital
- Reston Hospital Center
- Retreat Doctors’ Hospital
- Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital
- Riverside Walter Reed Hospital
- Sentara CarePlex Hospital
- Sentara Leigh Hospital
- Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
- Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center
- Sentara Obici Hospital
- Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center
- Smyth County Community Hospital
- Twin County Regional Healthcare
- UVA Haymarket Medical Center
- UVA Prince William Medical Center
- VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital
- Virginia Hospital Center–Arlington Health System
- Warren Memorial Hospital
- Winchester Medical Center
Grade B
- Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital
- Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center
- Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center
- Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center
- Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital of Richmond
- Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital
- Centra Bedford Memorial Hospital
- Centra Lynchburg General Hospital
- Centra Southside Community Hospital
- Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital
- Chesapeake Regional Medical Center
- CJW Medical Center – Chippenham Campus
- CJW Medical Center – Johnston-Willis Campus
- Riverside Doctors’ Hospital Williamsburg
- Riverside Regional Medical Center
- Russell County Hospital
- Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital
- Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
- Stafford Hospital
- StoneSprings Hospital Center
- University of Virginia Medical Center
- Wythe County Community Hospital
Grade C
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
- Danville Regional Medical Center
- Johnston Memorial Hospital
- Mary Washington Hospital
- Sentara RMH Medical Center
- Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
- Southampton Memorial Hospital
- Southside Regional Medical Center
- Sovah Health Martinsville
- Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center
- VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
Grade D
Fauquier Hospital
Not Rated
- Norton Community Hospital
- VCU Medical Center Main Hospital
Contact Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp for Legal Help
If you or a family member has suffered serious illness due to hospital negligence, contact a seasoned Virginia medical malpractice attorney to discuss what legal options you may have. The attorneys at our personal injury firm understand how devastating medical errors like these can be to a family, not only emotionally, but also financially. We have successfully represented many clients in obtaining the financial compensation they deserved, in both medical malpractice insurance settlements and jury awards, and will aggressively advocate for you and your family.
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