TUCSON, AZ — A new hospital safety report released this month gave 12 Arizona hospitals top “A” grades for protecting patients from preventable harm — but none of them were in Tucson.
The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades are a biannual ranking that assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” letter grades to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
Arizona as a whole grew from 39th to 33rd in the nation since the last rankings came out in the fall.
In addition to the 12 A hospitals, 11 received a ‘B’ grade and 21 received a ‘C’ grade. None were marked ‘D’ or ‘F.’
“A” hospitals in Arizona are:
Flagstaff Medical Center — Flagstaff HonorHealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Center — Scottsdale HonorHealth Sonoran Crossing Medical Center — Phoenix Mayo Clinic-Phoenix — Phoenix Mercy Gilbert Medical Center — Gilbert Banner Gateway Medical Center — Gilbert Banner Ironwood Medical Center — Queen Creek Banner Ocotillo Medical Center — Chandler Chandler Regional Medical Center — Chandler Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital – Mesa — Mesa Havasu Regional Medical Center — Lake Havasu City Verde Valley Medical Center — Cottonwood
The 11 “B” hospitals in Arizona are:
Canyon Vista Medical Center — Sierra Vista HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center — Phoenix HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center — Phoenix HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center — Scottsdale HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center — Scottsdale Kingman Regional Medical Center — Kingman Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita — Sahuarita Onvida Health Yuma Medical Center — Yuma St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center — Phoenix Valley View Medical Center — Fort Mohave Western Arizona Regional Medical Ctr — Bullhead City
The 21 ‘C’ hospitals are:
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix — Phoenix Banner Baywood Medical Center — Mesa Banner Boswell Medical Center — Sun City Banner Casa Grande Medical Center — Casa Grande Banner Del E Webb Medical Center — Sun City West Banner Desert Medical Center — Mesa Banner Estrella Medical Center — Phoenix Banner Thunderbird Medical Center — Glendale Banner University Medical Center-South — Tucson Banner University Medical Center-Tucson — Tucson HonorHealth Florence Medical Center — Florence HonorHealth Four Peaks Medical Center — Mesa HonorHealth Tempe Medical Center — Tempe Northwest Medical Center — Tucson Northwest Medical Center Houghton — Tucson Oro Valley Hospital — Oro Valley St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center — Glendale Tucson Medical Center — Tucson Valleywise Health — Phoenix Yavapai Regional Medical Center – East Campus — Prescott Valley Yavapai Regional Medical Center – West Campus — Prescott
Leapfrog said its biannual report — the only national ratings program focused exclusively on patient safety — shows improvement in 17 measures, including health care-associated infections, medication safety systems and patient experience.
“The good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives,” Leah Binder, the group’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
After peaking in fall 2022, several health care-associated infections declined sharply, according to the report. Central line-associated bloodstream infections fell by half; catheter-associated urinary tract infections dropped 45 percent; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections declined 42 percent; and serious intestinal infections linked to antibiotic use went down 30 percent.
The report also found gains in medication safety. Use of computerized physician order entry systems, which can flag prescribing errors, rose from 66 percent of hospitals meeting Leapfrog standards in 2018 to 90 percent in 2025. Adoption of barcode medication administration systems increased from 47 percent to 93 percent over the same period.
Patient experience scores, measured through Medicare and other federal surveys, have improved since hitting a low in fall 2023, rising by about one point on average across five safety-related measures, including communication with nurses and doctors and responsiveness of hospital staff.
Among states, Connecticut, Virginia and South Carolina had the highest share of A-rated hospitals, followed by Utah, Montana, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and California.
Montana and Maryland entered the top 10 for the first time, while Florida rose from 15th place in fall 2025 to seventh. No hospitals in North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont or Wyoming received an A grade.
About 450 hospitals were not assigned grades after a federal court ruling in South Florida involving several facilities that did not participate in Leapfrog’s 2024 or 2025 survey. The group said it applied the change nationwide and is appealing the decision while reviewing its methodology.