Area hospitals score well in latest Leapfrog evaluation

ALBANY — Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany scored a “C” on the latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade evaluation conducted by the group, while Colquitt Regional Hospital in Moultrie scored its 21st “A.”

The Leapfrog Group’s biannual safety grade is an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” assigned to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections. These largely preventable problems harm one in four hospital inpatients and cause as many as 250,000 deaths each year.

Other local hospitals and their scores include: Phoebe Sumter in Americus, “A,” and Tift Regional Hospital in Tifton and Crisp Regional in Cordele, which both received “B’s.”

“We are intently focused on the safety of our patients and on ensuring we have the right people and protocols in place to prevent errors and provide the best possible care for our patients,” a Phoebe spokesperson said in response to a request for comment by The Albany Herald. “We are pleased that our hard work resulted in an “A” for Phoebe Sumter in the Leapfrog Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Grade report.

“At Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, we have made significant improvements that are not reflected in the current score, which uses lagging data. We have implemented a formal Phoebe Putney Health System Quality Program to organize, coordinate and enhance our approach to patient safety and quality improvement throughout Phoebe. The program is having success in identifying best practices, standardizing work and hard-wiring quality measures and safety processes into what we do every day. These actions are benefiting our patients today, and we believe they will result in higher Leapfrog scores in the future.”

The Leapfrog scores offer patients a transparent look at the efficiency of local hospitals, according to Leapfrog Group officials.

“The Leapfrog Group was founded 25 years ago to improve American health care through transparency, and the safety grade has been a cornerstone of that effort,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said. “As we mark this milestone year, for the first time we’re looking at how consolidation impacts patient safety. We want to understand if system leadership accelerates patient safety or not.” 

  The Leapfrog analysis found that 90% of hospitals with a fall 2025 Safety Grade are part of a health system. Among “A” hospitals, the chance of being system-affiliated is slightly higher, at 94%. (“Health system” is defined as a network of health care facilities that are owned or managed under a single parent organization.) This also holds true for “straight A” hospitals — hospitals earning an “A” grade for more than two years in a row — with 95% of the 358 straight A hospitals part of health systems. All 11 hospitals that have earned an A for every grading round since 2012 are affiliated with health systems.   

For every grading round, Leapfrog ranks states based on the percentage of hospitals that earned an “A” in the current Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. Findings from the fall 2025 state rankings include:

— The top five states for percentage of “A” hospitals are Utah, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and North Carolina.

— Utah ranks No. 1 for the fifth consecutive Safety Grade round.

— Iowa, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming have no A hospitals. (Full state rankings for fall 2025 are available at hospitalsafetygrade.org.)  

Colquitt Regional earned an “A” for its proven systems, training, and safety-first culture, officials at the Moultrie hospital said..

“We are honored to receive our 21st ‘A’ safety grade from The Leapfrog Group,” Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney said. “This truly reflects the dedication of our entire team — from physicians and nurses to environmental services and every department in between. Our goal has always been to provide exceptional, high-quality care in the safest environment possible, and this achievement demonstrates our commitment to our patients and community.” 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only ratings program focused exclusively on accidents, errors, injuries and infections that harm or kill patients in hospitals. It is updated twice a year in the fall and spring, offering the public a reliable, independent assessment of hospital safety.

Grades are determined by public, peer-reviewed methodology, calculated by top patient safety experts under the guidance of a National Expert Panel. The grading system is fully transparent and always freely available to the public at www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

The Safety Grade is published by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization celebrating 25 years of driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety.