Leapfrog Reports Improvements Nationally in Healthcare-Associated Infections, Medication Safety and Patient Experience.
Louisville, Kentucky, May 6, 2026 – The Leapfrog Group has released its Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades, a biannual letter grade (“A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F”) assigned to most general hospitals in the United States based on reported medical errors, accidents, injuries, and infections. Driven in Kentucky by the Kentuckiana Health Collaborative (KHC), these grades provide a critical measure of patient safety for hospitals nationwide. Hospital Safety Grades are updated twice per year by The Leapfrog Group.
National data from the spring 2026 Safety Grade shows significant improvement in 17 measures of errors and infections. This includes healthcare-associated infections, barcode medication administration, computerized physician order entry and five patient experience measures.
“Patient safety improves when we lead with transparency, and the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are a powerful tool for understanding where we are making progress and where more work is needed across Kentucky.” said Natalie Middaugh, President and CEO of the KHC. “By working together across our healthcare ecosystem, we can continue reducing preventable harm and making care safer for everyone.”
In Kentucky, 50 hospitals were graded.16 earned an A, 14 earned a B, 19 earned a C, 1 earned a D, and 0 earned an F. Kentucky ranked 22nd nationally in percentage of ‘A’ rated hospitals, up from 26th nationally in Fall 2025.
The 16 hospitals that earned an “A” were:
- St. Elizabeth Healthcare – Ft. Thomas
- Saint Joseph – London
- T. J. Samson Community Hospital
- Meadowview Regional Medical Center
- Spring View Hospital
- Flaget Memorial Hospital
- St. Elizabeth Healthcare – Florence
- Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center
- Deaconess Henderson Hospital
- UK Good Samaritan Hospital
- University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital
- Centerpoint Health – Winchester
- Baptist Health Lexington
- Three Rivers Medical Center
- Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital
- Baptist Health La Grange
The KHC recognizes T.J. Samson Community Hospital and Meadowview Regional Hospital for their sustained commitment to patient safety, as reflected in earning an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade for five or more consecutive grading cycles through the Spring 2026 grade.
“The progress we’re seeing nationally and among hospitals in Kentucky is encouraging and deserves recognition, but there is still more work ahead to keep improving patient safety,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We applaud the hospitals in Kentucky that are making patient safety and transparency a clear priority—an effort that requires deep commitment from clinicians, leaders, board and staff at every level of the organization.”
Why Some Hospitals Are Reported as “Grade Not Assigned”
For spring 2026, due to a ruling by a federal court in South Florida, Leapfrog is not assigning Safety Grades to 450 hospitals that did not participate in the 2024 or 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. These hospitals are reported as Grade Not Assigned (GNA). Although the court ruling only applied to five hospitals, Leapfrog does not apply programmatic changes to individual hospitals because the Hospital Safety Grade is a national program. Leapfrog is pursuing an appeal and reviewing the Safety Grade methodology with its National Expert Panel to ensure the Hospital Safety Grade continues to be useful for consumers. Any proposed methodology changes will be announced and made available for public comment.
About The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. Among its initiatives, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 and assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. It is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring. To look up your hospital’s Safety Grade, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org. For more from Leapfrog, follow us on X (Formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.
About the Kentuckiana Health Collaborative
The Kentuckiana Health Collaborative (KHC) is a nonprofit organization working toward a future where everyone in Kentucky and Southern Indiana has access to high-quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare. Through collaboration, insights, and education, KHC serves as a trusted and neutral voice for solutions that improve health outcomes and make healthcare work better for our entire community.
