07-05-2025
5 Palm Beach County hospitals sue Leapfrog Group that failed them: What the surveys found
WEST PALM BEACH — Five hospitals in Palm Beach County have accused a national hospital watchdog group of publishing deceptive safety grades and steering patients toward riskier facilities.
Delray Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, St. Mary's Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center — all owned by the health care company Tenet — sued the nonprofit Leapfrog Group in April.
Tenet's attorneys say Leapfrog gave failing marks for critical safety measures without supporting data, relying instead on assumed worst-case scenarios when public information was unavailable. They argue that the misleading grades harmed their reputations, diverted patients to other facilities and potentially put lives at risk.
Go deeper: A national hospital-rating org failed five Palm Beach County hospitals. Now they're suing.
Leapfrog, cited by patients and insurers alike, said its ratings are based on data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Its attorneys say the grades reflect real, documented problems at the hospitals, including high rates of infection, patient injuries and poor communication.
Here's a closer look at each Palm Beach County hospital and the allegations against them by the Leapfrog Group
Delray Medical Center
Tenet's attorneys say Delray Medical Center, a 536-bed hospital and Level I Trauma Center for adults and children, has long been recognized for its cardiac and stroke care. It was named a Florida Resuscitation Center of Excellence in 2025, meeting about 15 state criteria for emergency and cardiac care, including intensive neurological monitoring and strong partnerships with EMS services.
Leapfrog gave Delray Medical Center an "F" grade for the fall of 2024.
The nonprofit said Delray performed significantly worse than the national average in critical safety measures, including bloodstream infections, surgical-site infections after colon surgery, and sepsis after surgery.
Leapfrog said patient surveys also show that Delray Medical falls well below average in communication with doctors, nurses and staff.
Good Samaritan Medical Center
Good Samaritan Medical Center, Palm Beach County's oldest hospital, specializes in oncology services and complex surgical care. Equipped with 333 beds, the West Palm Beach institution has served the community for more than a century and, according to its attorneys, is recognized as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.
Leapfrog gave Good Samaritan a "D" grade for the fall of 2024.
According to Leapfrog, Good Samaritan has a higher-than-average rate of urinary tract infections, surgical-site infections after colon surgery and incidents involving patient falls and injuries. Patient communication scores at the hospital are also significantly lower than the national average.
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, a 199-bed facility known for cardiovascular and pulmonary care, has received multiple national awards for clinical excellence. But Leapfrog maintains that Palm Beach Gardens had the worst performance of the five hospitals when it comes to harmful events.
It gave Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center an "F" grade for the fall of 2024.
The group points to high rates of sepsis after surgery, surgical wounds reopening and serious bed sores. Like the others, Palm Beach Gardens also scored poorly in patient communication metrics.
St. Mary's Medical Center
St. Mary's Medical Center, a 413-bed hospital in West Palm Beach that operates the region's only children's hospital and Level I pediatric trauma center, is nationally accredited for its trauma, brain-injury and maternity-care programs.
Leapfrog gave St. Mary's a "D" grade for the fall of 2024.
The nonprofit said St. Mary's performed worse than the national average in rates of urinary tract infections and patient falls and injuries. The hospital also fell below national benchmarks in how well staff communicated with patients about their care and medications.
West Boca Medical Center
West Boca Medical Center, a 195-bed hospital focusing on women's and children's health and outfitted with a neonatal intensive care unit, has been recognized for its maternity and gastrointestinal services.
Leapfrog gave West Boca an "F" grade for the fall of 2024.
Leapfrog said West Boca has higher rates of MRSA infections, bloodstream infections and surgical-site infections following colon surgery compared to national averages. Patients also reported lower satisfaction with communication from the hospital staff.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County hospitals sue Leapfrog Group after failed ratings
