�Թϲ�����

Delaware once again is one of the worst states in hospital safety, according to a recent national report. Like last year, the First State tied for last, or 49th place, with the District of Columbia and North Dakota in Leapfrog's "Hospital Safety Grade." The watchdog organization, which seeks public information about patient safety and quality, assigns letter grades to 2,600 U.S. hospitals every six months. Delaware earned last place because none of its hospitals earned an A grade. The state has seen a drastic decline since Leapfrog began releasing grades in 2012. In the organization's first year, Delaware was ranked No. 8 in the country. (Newman, 11/12)

In the aftermath of a high-stakes 2018 midterm election, neither Democrats nor Republicans are victorious on the subject of hospital safety in the United States, according to The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that supports improvement in the quality and safety of American health care. On Thursday, the organization released data evaluating 2,600 hospitals across blue and red states its 2018 Hospital Safety Grades. Texas hospitals, at least, got a win. (de Luna, 11/13)

Regarded as one of the top hospital safety measures in the country, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a bi-annual report, dives into hospitals and patient safety. It's an endeavor to provide people with enough information to make an informed decision on what hospital to choose. Leapfrog says "approximately 440,000" deaths happen annually from hospital injuries and that people run a 1-in-25 chance of getting a new infection from a hospital stay. (Jones, 11/13)

A handful of St. Louis area hospitals received a high rating for patient safety in a report from the medical watchdog nonprofit, the Leapfrog Group. Most of the 27 acute-care hospitals in the  region had documented problems with hospital-acquired infections, physician and nurse training and surgical complications, according to the group, which ranks 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice a year. (Fentem, 11/13)

The safety grades are out for hospitals in South Carolina. Only one Columbia or Lexington-area hospital received an A grade for safety scores in a biannual ranking by an organization that aims for transparency in the U.S. health system, and several received a C or D score. (Feit, 11/12)

A new report ranks New Jersey tops in the nation when it comes to hospital patient safety. The Leapfrog Group report gives 38 of New Jersey’s 67 hospitals an “A” rating for keeping patients safe, which is 57 percent, the highest percentage of any state in the country. (Matthau and Hochron, 11/13)