WARNING: 4 California Hospitals Receive Disturbing Failing ‘F’ Grade for Patient Safety

Grey’s Anatomy. House. ER. The Good Doctor. Even if you’ve watched every medical drama under the sun, you probably still can’t tell whether or not a real hospital is safe just by walking through the doors. 

Even if the facility you were being treated at wasn’t a world renown facility like Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins or Cleveland clinic, you’d want it to have a passing grade when it comes to safety. Did you know there’s an easy way to check out how safe (or not) patients should feel at hundreds of hospitals across the United States? 

With the advice of a panel of experts from places like Harvard, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Stanford, UC Davis, Vanderbilt and the CDC, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade created a scale to track how hospitals perform. It’s a big task. They look at 27 metrics that are heavily focused on infection rates, problems with surgery, safety concerns like patient falls, measures put in place to prevent mistakes, staff training and communication amongst the staff. 

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According to their “explanation of hospital safety grades” less than 1% of the over 2,600 hospitals they graded across America performed poorly enough to get a flunking “F” grade. A quarter of those failing hospitals are in California. 

Those facilities with an “F” grade are:

Memorial Hospital of Gardena

Located at 1145 W. Redondo Beach Blvd in Gardena, this hospital performed worse than average when it came to MRSA and blood infections, effective leadership, bedside care for patients, communication with doctors and nurses and responsiveness of hospital staff. They also scored below average in almost every category under the “practices to prevent errors” umbrella. We’re talking very basic things like safely administering medication, communicating discharge instructions and handwashing. Their 2.0 rating and accompanying comments on Google Reviews seem to be in line with the findings. 

Mission Community Hospital

Located at 14850 Roscoe Blvd in Panorama City, this hospital performed worse than average when it came to MRSA, blood and urinary tract infections, the number of patient falls, ICU training, communication with doctors and nurses and responsiveness of hospital staff. They also under performed in most categories under “practices to prevent errors.” That said, the hospital has a 3.5 star rating on Google Reviews and many people who’ve been treated there or had loved ones treated there say that the staff was kind, patient and knowledgeable. 

Pacifica Hospital of the Valley

Located at 9449 San Fernando Road in Sun Valley, there were a lot of categories the hospital declined to report or there wasn’t data available. Their score indicates concerns about communication with doctors and nurses, responsiveness of the staff and almost every category under “practices to prevent errors.” They also received the worst score in the country when it came to blood infections in patients with central lines. They have a 2.4 start rating on Google reviews. Many indicated that their providers were disrespectful and that the hospital looks worn down. 

Providence St. Mary Medical Center

Located at 183000 Highway 18 in Apple Valley, this hospital under-performed in every category under the “practices to prevent errors” umbrella and received the worst marks in the nation for “effective leadership to prevent errors.” There’s also a lot of room for improvement when it comes to their patients experiencing harmful events like dangerous blood clots. They have a 2.2 star rating on Google Reviews. Many of those reviews had something negative to say about billing or rude staff. 

We’re not medical experts, but a lot of the data for Leapfrog’s grades is as recent as late 2023. They update their rating twice a year, so there’s a chance the facilities are working to make improvements. Always do your own research before putting your health in the hands of any provider.