21-05-2025
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center's safety grade dropped from an ‘A' to a ‘C,' per new report
The spring 2024
Center in Lebanon, dropped from an 'A' to a 'C.'
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On infections, it found DHMC performed worse than average when it came to rates of sepsis infection after surgery and C. difficile infection. The hospital also lost points on issues related to surgery, such as surgical wounds splitting open, blood leakage, kidney injury after surgery, and accidental cuts and tears.
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Michael S. Calderwood, the chief quality officer at DHMC, said Dartmouth Health has robust quality and safety standards to ensure that patients experience the highest-quality care.
'Voluntary data submissions to groups like Leapfrog are nuanced and don't always capture the full picture of safety ratings,' he said in an email. He added that in the latest Leapfrog report DHMC maintained or improved performance in all areas except four.
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Calderwood said the hospital has made improvements on managing infections since the 2023-2024 data reflected in
the latest Leapfrog report.
He said a hospital task force has worked on infections caused by catheters, "
The Leapfrog safety report found DHMC was also below average on handwashing. But Calderwood said the report's methodology relies heavily on automated hand hygiene data, which he said is unreliable and lacks the opportunity for 'in-the-moment' education. These automated systems include technology like
Calderwood said DHMC is using direct observation instead of the automated system, but that has impacted the Leapfrog methodology for data collection.
'Recognizing that we have already driven significant improvement in a number of the key areas identified in the Leapfrog survey and beyond, we see our Spring 2025 score as an opportunity to focus on areas for improvement,' he said.
The New Hampshire hospitals that received the highest safety grade include Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, Exeter Hospital, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, and St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua.
Both Catholic Medical Center and Cheshire Medical Center received a 'D' grade, the lowest safety grade assigned to any hospital in the state.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Medical Center said the hospital has chosen not to participate in the Leapfrog survey and that the grade does not accurately reflect the safety and quality of care provided to patients.
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'Cheshire has been notified from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' annual Preview Report that it will be awarded four stars, up from three stars last year,' the spokesperson said.
Facing serious financial problems, Catholic Medical Center was
CMC was the subject of a
'CMC did not participate in the Leapfrog survey prior to joining HCA Healthcare earlier this year, which means the current grade is based on limited historical information,' a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement.
'HCA Healthcare has a strong and continuous commitment to measuring quality and safety in patient care,' the statement said. 'We are actively integrating our comprehensive quality and safety programs at CMC.'
On the latest safety report for other HCA-owned hospitals, Parkland Medical Center received a 'B,' while Frisbie Memorial Hospital received a 'C.'
Compared to the other New England states, New Hampshire was in the middle of the pack in terms of
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at
