Florida hospitals surge to seventh nationally in Leapfrog's spring safety grades
By Rick Mayer
May 7, 2026 at 12:29 AM EDT
Of 191 particiapting state hospitals, 91 posted A's while the nonprofit watchdog adjusts its methodology for non-particpants to comply with a recent court ruling. Nationally, there was significant improvement in 17 measures of errors and infections.
Florida climbed from 15th to seventh nationally in the latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, one of the biggest jumps in the country amid broad improvements nationally in measures tied to infections, medication errors and patient care experiences.
However, the spring grades, released Wednesday by The Leapfrog Group, arrive with major changes in how the nonprofit hospital watchdog organization handles facilities that do not participate in its survey process.
For the first time, Leapfrog no longer assigns grades to non-participating hospitals. Instead, roughly 450 hospitals nationwide are listed as “Grade Not Assigned,” or GNA, following a federal court ruling in South Florida involving five Palm Beach County hospitals.
ALSO READ: U.S. judge rules Leapfrog's safety ratings were unfair to nonparticipating hospitals
Leapfrog said the court order technically applied only to those hospitals, but the organization chose to stop grading all non-participants because the safety grades are a national program. Eight GNAs were in Florida, including the five in Palm Beach.
Of the 191 Florida hospitals included in the latest cycle, 81 earned an “A” grade, 60 received a “B,” and 40 received a “C.” Two hospitals received a “D,” while eight Florida hospitals were not assigned a grade.
Forty-one Florida hospitals earned “Straight A” designations for maintaining top scores for five or more consecutive grading periods.
That state placed seventh in the percentage of hospitals earning an “A” after placing 15th in fall 2025.
Connecticut ranked first nationally, followed by Virginia, South Carolina, Utah and Montana. Montana cracked the top five for the first time. At the other end of the rankings, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming had no hospitals receive an “A.”
Leapfrog officials pointed to significant national improvements in patient safety indicators since pandemic-era setbacks drove infection rates sharply higher.
According to Leapfrog, central line-associated bloodstream infections declined 50% from their recent peak, while catheter-associated urinary tract infections fell 45%. MRSA infections dropped 42%, and Clostridium difficile infections declined 30%.
ALSO READ: HCA, AdventHealth boost Florida to 15th in Leapfrog hospital safety rankings
The organization also highlighted improvements in medication safety systems. By 2025, 90% of hospitals met Leapfrog’s standard for computerized physician order entry systems designed to catch prescribing errors, up from 66% in 2018. Hospitals meeting standards for barcode medication administration systems rose from 47% to 93% over the same period.
Leapfrog said patient experience scores tied to communication, responsiveness and discharge information also improved after hitting low points in 2023.
“The good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives,” Leapfrog president and CEO Leah Binder said in a statement.
Leapfrog has appealed the court ruling that challenged its methodology for non-participating hospitals.
The lawsuit, brought by Palm Beach Health Network hospitals, argued Leapfrog assigned grades using incomplete or estimated data for facilities that declined to participate.
Palm Beach Health Network officials said Leapfrog’s change validates the lawsuit’s claims.
“Leapfrog clearly recognizes that it cannot accurately grade non-participating hospitals, and we’re glad to see these hospitals will no longer be subjected to grades based on made-up data,” Maggie Gill, Eastern Group President for PBHN, said in a statement.
The court found the methodology was not based on actual performance and sought to “punish nonparticipating hospitals as a means of forcing hospitals to cooperate in submitting their surveys.”
Leapfrog has since removed previously issued grades for non-participating hospitals and issued corrective disclosures to hospitals that licensed earlier grades.
These eight Florida hospitals did not participate in 2024 or 2025, and did not receive a spring 2026 grade:
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However, the spring grades, released Wednesday by The Leapfrog Group, arrive with major changes in how the nonprofit hospital watchdog organization handles facilities that do not participate in its survey process.
For the first time, Leapfrog no longer assigns grades to non-participating hospitals. Instead, roughly 450 hospitals nationwide are listed as “Grade Not Assigned,” or GNA, following a federal court ruling in South Florida involving five Palm Beach County hospitals.
ALSO READ: U.S. judge rules Leapfrog's safety ratings were unfair to nonparticipating hospitals
Leapfrog said the court order technically applied only to those hospitals, but the organization chose to stop grading all non-participants because the safety grades are a national program. Eight GNAs were in Florida, including the five in Palm Beach.
Of the 191 Florida hospitals included in the latest cycle, 81 earned an “A” grade, 60 received a “B,” and 40 received a “C.” Two hospitals received a “D,” while eight Florida hospitals were not assigned a grade.
Forty-one Florida hospitals earned “Straight A” designations for maintaining top scores for five or more consecutive grading periods.
That state placed seventh in the percentage of hospitals earning an “A” after placing 15th in fall 2025.
Connecticut ranked first nationally, followed by Virginia, South Carolina, Utah and Montana. Montana cracked the top five for the first time. At the other end of the rankings, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming had no hospitals receive an “A.”
Leapfrog officials pointed to significant national improvements in patient safety indicators since pandemic-era setbacks drove infection rates sharply higher.
According to Leapfrog, central line-associated bloodstream infections declined 50% from their recent peak, while catheter-associated urinary tract infections fell 45%. MRSA infections dropped 42%, and Clostridium difficile infections declined 30%.
ALSO READ: HCA, AdventHealth boost Florida to 15th in Leapfrog hospital safety rankings
The organization also highlighted improvements in medication safety systems. By 2025, 90% of hospitals met Leapfrog’s standard for computerized physician order entry systems designed to catch prescribing errors, up from 66% in 2018. Hospitals meeting standards for barcode medication administration systems rose from 47% to 93% over the same period.
Leapfrog said patient experience scores tied to communication, responsiveness and discharge information also improved after hitting low points in 2023.
“The good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives,” Leapfrog president and CEO Leah Binder said in a statement.
Leapfrog has appealed the court ruling that challenged its methodology for non-participating hospitals.
The lawsuit, brought by Palm Beach Health Network hospitals, argued Leapfrog assigned grades using incomplete or estimated data for facilities that declined to participate.
Palm Beach Health Network officials said Leapfrog’s change validates the lawsuit’s claims.
“Leapfrog clearly recognizes that it cannot accurately grade non-participating hospitals, and we’re glad to see these hospitals will no longer be subjected to grades based on made-up data,” Maggie Gill, Eastern Group President for PBHN, said in a statement.
The court found the methodology was not based on actual performance and sought to “punish nonparticipating hospitals as a means of forcing hospitals to cooperate in submitting their surveys.”
Leapfrog has since removed previously issued grades for non-participating hospitals and issued corrective disclosures to hospitals that licensed earlier grades.
These eight Florida hospitals did not participate in 2024 or 2025, and did not receive a spring 2026 grade:
- The PBHN facilities of Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach; Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach; Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center; and West Boca Medical Center.
- Baptist Hospital in Pensacola and Gulf Breeze Hospital, both owned by Baptist Health Care in Pensacola.
- DeSoto Memorial Hospital in Arcadia, owned by the DeSoto County Hospital District but leased to Tampa General Hospital since November.
(991x1802, AR: 0.5499445061043285)