These are the Raleigh area’s most unsafe hospitals. See the report’s ratings

Although North Carolina has a strong reputation for hospital safety, some facilities perform less well than others in the United States. Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Levels.

National regulator Leapfrog Group reviewed 93 hospitals Statewide, each person is assigned an AF letter grade.

Here’s a look at which Triangle-area hospitals ranked at the bottom, and what those scores really mean.

What makes a hospital safe?

The Hospital Safety Grade List assigns letter grades to U.S. general hospitals based on their performance. Prevent medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections Kill or harm the patient.

about 30 measures used to determine these security levels. The Leapfrog Group also developed its score using these five patient experience measures that have a direct relationship to safety outcomes:

• drug exchange

Grades are assigned using publicly available data and the measured scores are calculated Leapfrog said it uses patient responses to a nationally standardized survey after a hospital visit.

In recent years, Leapfrog has ranked North Carolina hospitals:

Leapfrog: Worst hospital in the Triangle

central carolina hospital Sanford Hospital is the only hospital in the Triangle region to receive a “C” grade. Here are some areas where hospitals can improve, according to Leapfrog:

• Prevalence Adverse events after surgery, surgery or birth

• patient in danger bedsores

• Prevalence Patient falls and injuriesleading to hip fracture

• Prevalence collapsed lungwhen air leaks out of the lungs and into the area between the lungs and chest wall

• Improve communication between patients and hospital staff, and About medicines for patients

How is hospital safety level calculated?

Leapfrog’s hospital safety ratings are assigned every two years — once in the spring and once in the fall. The Hospital Safety Level Program was established in 2012.

▪ Grades are designated by letters, A being the best grade and F being the worst grade.

▪ Overall grade is based on approximately 30 evidence-based measures of basic knowledge patient safetyincluding hand washing, computer entry of prescriptions, and trained nurses.

▪ Tiers are assigned based on data from a variety of public sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

▪ Tiers are typically assigned to nearly 3,000 hospitals. any General acute care hospital In the United States, this classification is included in the classification list for which there is sufficient public data.

▪ Individual scores that contribute to a hospital’s overall letter grade are divided into five categories:

• Infectincluding the frequency of MRSA infections, urinary tract infections, blood infections, etc. among hospital patients.

• surgical issuesincluding how often hazardous items are left in patients’ bodies after surgery, how often surgical wounds dehisce, and how often accidental cuts and tears occur.

• Security Questionincluding patient falls and dangerous bedsores.

• Prevent wrong practicesincluding hand washing and safe medication use.

• Doctors, nurses and hospital staffincluding having enough qualified nurses and patient bedside care.

Leapfrog: The best hospital in the Triangle

The following Triangle-area hospitals earned A grades in Leapfrog’s Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Grades report:

• Duke Regional Hospital (Durham)

• johnston health (Smithfield)

• johnston health (Clayton)

• rex hospital ltd. (Raleigh)

• WakeMed Cary Hospital (Cary)

• WakeMed Northern Hospital (Raleigh)

• WakeMed Raleigh Campus (Raleigh)

• University of North Carolina Hospital (Chapel Hill)

These received a B grade:

• Raleigh Duke Hospital (Raleigh)

• Duke University Hospital (Durham)

• REX Holly Springs Hospital (Holly Springs)

How should you use Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Score?

in video When explaining how to use hospital safety levels, Leapfrog recommends using them inform you of your decision When choosing a hospital or to learn more about hospitals in your area.

▪ Use the Leapfrog search tool on the home page: hospitalsafetygrades.orgyou can search for hospitals by hospital name, city and state, state only, or zip code.

▪ When you get to the results page, Leapfrog recommends looking for the highest-rated hospitals.

If there is more than one highly rated hospital, consider other factors that are important to you when seeking care, such as the hospital’s location and distance from you.

If a hospital has a poor rating, Leapfrog recommends looking for other locations or talking to your doctor about how to stay safe at the hospital.

A hospital’s overall letter grade gives you a sense of the “big picture,” Leapfrog said. However, you can also view the individual scores that make up a hospital’s grade.

▪ If you are concerned about certain issues or risks, be sure to check the hospital’s score on that measure. Recommended beyond level always Check hospital scores Hand washing, blood infections and patient falls.

▪ Each score a hospital received also lists the best and worst scores for any hospital on that measure and the hospital’s average score on that measure.

For more information on how to use hospital safety levels, visit Hospitalsafetygrade.org/your-hospitals-safety-grade/how-to-use-the-grade.

How to stay safe when visiting the hospital

Regardless of a hospital’s security level, Leapfrog The following tips are recommended If you need care in hospital, to stay safe:

▪ Please have someone with you when you arrive and when you are discharged. If possible, also try to have someone visit you every day during your stay.

The extra person ensures that even when you’re groggy or tired, there’s someone there to stay alert, ask questions, and provide care for you. The hospital may have patient advocate Staff can also provide these resources.

▪ Be alert and say something. While you are in the hospital, you or your companions should take notes to track what is happening, including whether hospital staff and your care team are washing their hands.

▪ Know your medicines. Leapfrog recommends keeping a record of the medications you take while in the hospital and the reasons for taking them.

Don’t be afraid to ask your care team for this information. You can also ask your care team to cross-check your name and medications before giving them to you to prevent possible confusion.

Reporting by Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska contributed to this story

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