The Leapfrog Group today released its spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grade, a biannual “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” assigned to most general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections. Driven in Minnesota, Ohio, and Oregon by Health Action Council, the Safety Grades give the community critical insight about local hospitals. Hospital Safety Grades are updated twice per year by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog.

National data from the spring 2026 Safety Grade shows significant improvement in 17 measures of errors and infections. This includes healthcare-associated infections, barcode medication administration, computerized physician order entry and five patient experience measures. 

“Preventable medical errors remain far too common in hospitals across the country, including in our own community,” said Patty Starr, President & CEO of Health Action Council. “This latest round of the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade shows encouraging progress in patient safety nationwide. The employers and purchasers in our coalition believe transparency is essential, and by working together, we can continue reducing preventable harm and making care safer for everyone.”

Health Action Council is a Leapfrog regional leader for Minnesota, Ohio, and Oregon. In Minnesota, 6 hospitals earned an A, 8 earned a B, and 3 earned a C. In Ohio, 29 hospitals earned an A, 29 earned a B, and 19 earned a C. In Oregon, 8 hospitals earned an A, 7 earned a B, and 4 earned a C.

Out of these states, hospitals that earned Straight A grades (5 rounds or more) include:

• Minnesota: Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin, Mayo Clinic Health System-Mankato, and Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont
• Ohio: Holzer Gallipolis, Fisher-Titus Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Health System - Fairview Hospital, Kettering Health Main Campus, East Liverpool City Hospital, Coshocton Regional Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Health System - Marymount Hospital, The Christ Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Health System - Hillcrest Hospital, and Kettering Health Troy
• Oregon: Asante Three Rivers Medical Center and PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend

View the National 2026 Spring Safety Rankings

“The progress we’re seeing nationally is encouraging and deserves recognition, but there is still more work ahead to keep improving patient safety,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We applaud the hospitals that are making patient safety and transparency a clear priority—an effort that requires deep commitment from clinicians, leaders, board and staff at every level of the organization.”

Why Some Hospitals Are Reported as “Grade Not Assigned”

For spring 2026, due to a ruling by a federal court in South Florida, Leapfrog is not assigning Safety Grades to 450 hospitals that did not participate in the 2024 or 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. These hospitals are reported as Grade Not Assigned (GNA). Although the court ruling only applied to five hospitals, Leapfrog does not apply programmatic changes to individual hospitals because the Hospital Safety Grade is a national program. Leapfrog is pursuing an appeal and reviewing the Safety Grade methodology with its National Expert Panel to ensure the Hospital Safety Grade continues to be useful for consumers. Any proposed methodology changes will be announced and made available for public comment. View the 2026 Spring Safety Grade Methodology, Explanation of Safety Grades, and Frequently Asked Questions.

About Health Action Council
Health Action Council is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) organization representing mid and large-size employers that enhances human and economic health through thought leadership, innovative services, and collaboration. It provides value to its members by facilitating projects that improve the quality and moderate the cost of healthcare purchased by its members for their employees, dependents, and retirees. Health Action Council also collaborates with key stakeholders - health plans, physicians, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry - to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare in the community.


About The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. Among its initiatives, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 and assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. It is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring. To look up your hospital’s Safety Grade, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org. For more from Leapfrog, follow us on  X (Formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.