For the last five years, NHRMC has struggled to earn the top safety and quality rating from Leapfrog. Still, Novant Health said it is happy with the ranking.
The non-profit releases hospital grades twice a year. In the fall of 2021, not long after Novant finalized its purchase of NHRMC, the hospital received an A — but has otherwise consistently received a B score.
Other Novant hospitals, including its Brunswick County Medical Center — which has earned A grades for the last several years – and its triad hospitals have all scored well.
In past years, Novant NHRMC has scored relatively well in many regions — particularly practices to prevent medical errors and safety issues — but it has struggled with infections, safety, and communication at NHRMC, according to Leapfrog. This year, the hospital showed issues with post-surgical recovery, infection prevention, and staff responsiveness.
For infections, NHRMC ranked low for inflections in the blood, urinary tracts, and colon surgery sites. Leapfrog recommends special attention to central line and catheter procedures, and more attention to colon surgery patients.
For post-surgical issues, the hospital ranked below average for surgical wounds splitting open and deaths from treatable but serious complications. For surgical wounds, NHRMC scored a 3.4 — the average is around 2, the best hospital’s score was .89 and the worst was 4.4. This number represents the number of times surgical wounds in the stomach or abdomen area split open for every 1,000 people who had surgery on their abdomen.
For death from treatable serious complications, NHRMC scored 195 — the best score was around 87, the average was 168, and the worst was 223. These numbers represent the number of patients with serious treatable complications who died following surgery. According to Leapfrog, these are patients who “might catch pneumonia, have a heart attack, or lose function in their kidneys or liver.”
Better staff communication and aggressive action plans based on patient safety guidelines are Leapfrog’s recommendations for improving the grade.
Leapfrog also gave NHRMC poor marks for hospital staff responsiveness. On a 1-100 scale, with higher numbers meaning better response time for nurses, doctors, and other staff, NHRMC scored 76. The best score was 94, the average was 81, and the worst was 61.
Novant said it was pleased with the B grade it received for spring 2024.
“We’re pleased our commitment to safety and quality was once again recognized by The Leapfrog Group. Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center is building upon its strong foundation as we work to create a healthier future. Our culture of continuous improvement drives us to innovate and raise the standard of care for our patients through a wide array of quality programs. Our pairing of clinical expertise with leading technologies empowers us to deliver care the community can trust now and in the future,” according to a Novant spokesperson.
Novant did not address particular areas noted by Leapfrog or the hospital’s inability to earn a higher A grade over the last several years.
In 2022, a Novant executive vice president addressed more specific issues like a new handwashing hygiene observation program aimed at reducing infection rates; those rates do appear to have fallen over the last two years. Novant also noted the decrease in the number of A grades awarded by Leapfrog that year.
Leapfrog generates its scores using data from surveys it conducts, and information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — a low-profile agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which put NHRMC on ‘immediate jeopardy’ notice for losing Medicare and Medicaid contracts in the summer of 2022 due to serious deficiencies.
Related: Federal agency again rates Novant NHRMC two out of five stars
CMS also releases its own annual rating of hospitals. Last year, it rated NHRMC two of five stars for patient safety and three of five stars based on patient feedback. An updated rating is due out in July.
