The News & Observer previously covered the highest scoring hospitals in the spring 2026 Leapfrog safety grades.<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a closer look at Raleigh\u2019s grades and what they mean.<\/p>\n How are grades calculated?<\/p>\n Leapfrog\u2019s Hospital Safety Grades are assigned twice a year, in the spring and fall. The Hospital Safety Grade program was established in 2012.<\/p>\n Grades are assigned using letters, with A as the best grade and F as the worst. The grades are assigned using data from various public sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n A Florida judge recently ordered Leapfrog<\/a> to scrub poor patient safety grades for several Florida hospitals, The Miami Herald reported. The judge described the methodology as misleading, and \u201cpunitive\u201d for healthcare systems that choose not to participate.<\/p>\n In a video explaining how to use the hospital safety grades, Leapfrog recommends using them to inform your decision when researching hospitals near you. Leapfrog offers a search tool on the homepage at hospitalsafetygrade.org<\/a>. Hospitals are searchable by hospital name, city and state, just state, or ZIP code.<\/p>\n Raleigh C and D hospitals<\/p>\n Wilson Medical Center<\/a> got the only C grade in the Triangle area, and Granville Medical Center<\/a> got the only D. The News & Observer reached out Tuesday, May 12 and is still awaiting response from both hospitals. Granville is in Oxford, about an hour from Raleigh. The town of Wilson is also just under an hour away.<\/p>\n Wilson performed below average on MRSA infections, urinary tract infections, patient falls, falls leading to broken hips and dangerous blood clots, the report says. The hospital also underperformed on medication and discharge information and nurse communication and hospital staff responsiveness.Granville performed below average on C. Diff infections, harmful events, bed sores, blood clots, handwashing and safe medication administration, the report says. The hospital also underperformed on effective leadership to prevent errors and specially trained doctors care for ICU patients.What makes a hospital safe?<\/p>\n Leapfrog evaluates hospital safety based on the prevention of medical errors, illnesses, injuries and infections.<\/p>\n The group uses up data on 32 safety measures to evaluate hospitals. If a hospital is missing too many pieces of data, the hospital is not graded. Leapfrog reports on five patient experience measures that directly impact patient safety:<\/p>\n Nurse communicationDoctor communicationStaff responsivenessCommunication about medicineDischarge information<\/p>\n Portions of this story were previously published<\/a> in The News & Observer. Inspired by a story from The Sacramento Bee<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n Ask the North Carolina Service Journalism Team <\/p>\n Questions about life in North Carolina? Or have a tip or story idea you\u2019d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.<\/p>\n You can submit your question by filling out this form<\/a>. <\/p>\n Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/headshot.jpeg\")