Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital’s patient safety rating dropped from a C last fall to a D in Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grade’s recent spring report. 

Chestnut Hill was one of only three hospitals among 54 in the tri-state region to receive an overall D grade by Leapfrog. The 122-year-old hospital was rated below average in 53% of the categories measured. Its lowest grades were in infections. 

“Leapfrog's ratings are based on data that can be up to two years old,” Jennifer M. Reardon, a spokesperson for the Temple Health System, said in an email. “So, it often takes several reporting cycles for recent improvements to be reflected in the scores.” 

“Peer-reviewed” reports

Temple Health, along with Redeemer Health and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), acquired Chestnut Hill Hospital from the Tower Health System in January 2023. The transition from Tower’s IT system to Temple’s system made some information required by Leapfrog temporarily unavailable “leading to incomplete data submission that affected the score,” Reardon said.

Leapfrog, an independent nonprofit organization, is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients, according to its website. Its “peer-reviewed” reports are generally considered reliable. 

The nonprofit began sending out a hospital survey asking hospitals to voluntarily report on medical errors in 2001. Today, it mails as many as 3,000 surveys and receives roughly 2,300 submissions from general hospitals across the country. 

But not every hospital participates. Those hospitals, including the University of Pennsylvania Health System, receive grades, usually a C, “calculated only for the available measures,” according to its website. 

Leapfrog began its biannual (spring and fall) Hospital Safety Grade in 2012. Using survey reports, hospitals are graded A (better than average) through F (failing) based on 27 to 30 measures of patient safety, including Infections; Problems with Surgery; Safety; Practices to Prevent Errors; and Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff. Each category has five to seven subsections.

Lost in transition?

It’s hard to say what effect the transition from Tower to Temple had on Chestnut Hill Hospital’s grade. But based on its below-average ratings, the hospital has its work cut out. 

The hospital graded below average in five of the six infection classifications, including sepsis after surgery, surgical site after colon surgery, urinary tract, blood, and C-diff (clostridium difficile), which causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. 

Its MRSA infection rate fell slightly below average. MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria that can be life threatening. According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, it is transmitted several different ways, including by providers who don’t wash their hands between patients. 

Four of the six measurements in the Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff category earned D grades. Handwashing, Communications about Medicines, and Communications about Discharge were also below average in the Practice to Prevent Errors section.

One of the hospital’s lowest grades came in Nursing and Bedside Care for Patients. Chestnut Hill was 63 points below the national average and 85 points from the best hospitals. 

The grade isn’t surprising, considering that nurses and technicians have been complaining about staffing and wages almost since Temple took over. Eleven months into Temple’s stewardship, nurses and technicians unionized and joined the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).  

In March, both groups granted their union bargaining committee the power to strike. Last month, union members held a press conference outside the hospital to remind the public and hospital officials about their concerns, adding that they “are strike ready.” 

A few bright spots

There were bright spots in Leapfrog’s grading. For instance, Chestnut Hill ranked among the best hospitals in the country for specialty trained ICU doctors. It also scored high on not leaving dangerous objects in a patient during surgery. Reardon expects Chestnut Hill to garner more of those “better than average” ratings in the future. 

“With the transition now complete and the Temple quality program fully established at Chestnut Hill Hospital, we expect future Leapfrog results to align more closely with our current performance — just as they have at Jeanes (Hospital) and Main campuses,” she said.

Beginning in 2020, Temple Health System’s main campus hospital has earned nine “A” grades from Leapfrog. Its Jeanes Campus received its third “A” grade in a row, placing both campuses among the 32% of hospitals nationally, and 56 in Pennsylvania receiving the highest grade. 

“We are proud to bring this same standard of excellence to Chestnut Hill Hospital and are very encouraged by the progress our dedicated team is making,“ Reardon said.