Top Safest Hospitals by State to Work as a Nurse in 2023
Image Source: Dartmouth Health
When you're considering where you want to work as a nurse, safety should definitely be a consideration. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is a great resource when it comes to finding a safe place to work. The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit healthcare watchdog organization, issues an annual report on hospital safety grades. These reports are used to help patients find a safe hospital near them. Still, it is also a valuable resource for nurses to see how safe a hospital is before working there.
The safety Leapfrog ratings are updated twice a year, every spring and every fall. The grade comprises up to 22 evidence-based practice measures of patient safety. Each has a numeric score calculated in the performance of how hospitals protect patients from harm and errors. While it is not required for hospitals to participate in submitting all data, it is encouraged.
How They Chose the List of the Safest Hospitals for Nurses
The hospital safety grade is a grading system on how safe they are for patients. They grade based on an A, B, C, D, and F scale. The grade is determined based on several factors, including,
- Infection rates
- Surgical problems
- Safety issues
- Practice errors, and staff, including doctors and nurses.
All but 2 states (Vermont and North Dakota) have received an A rating in at least one hospital, and several states have multiple hospitals with A ratings.
Each measure is based on a below-average, average, or above-average scale with numerical ratings. Infections measures look at MRSA infection rates, C. Diff infection rates, blood infection rates, urinary tract infection rates, surgical site infections with col surgery, and sepsis infection after surgery.
Surgical problem measures review,
- Objects left in the patient
- Surgical wounds splitting open (dehiscing)
- Death from treatable complications
- Blood vessel injury
- Kidney injury post-operatively
- Breathing complications
- Accidental cuts or tears
Safety issues review measures on harmful events, dangerous bedsores, falls and injuries to patients, falls that cause a broken hip, Pneumothorax after a procedure, blood clot development, and air or gas bubbles in the blood.
Practice errors measured in the survey include,
- Doctors ordering medication through a computer
- Administering safe medication
- Hand washing practice
- Communicating with patients about medication and discharge
- Staff working together to prevent errors
Lastly, the hospital safety grading survey measures all staff, including doctors and nurses. This measure includes how leadership helps prevent errors, having qualified nurses, and having specially trained doctors and staff to care for ICU patients. This final measure also records the communication between doctors and patients, nurses and patients, and the responsiveness of hospital staff.
>> Find a nursing job near you!
Top Safest Hospitals to Work as a Nurse
Here are the safest hospitals to work at according to Leapfrog, listed by safest state, then hospital, for Fall 2022:
New Hampshire
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center – Lebanon
Frisbie Memorial Hospital - Rochester
Parkland Medical Center - Derry
Portsmouth Regional Hospital - Portsmouth
St. Joseph Hospital of Nashua - Nashua
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital - Dover
Virginia
Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital - Richmond
Buchanan General Hospital - Grundy
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center - Christiansburg
Clinch Valley Medical Center - Richlands
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital - Richmond
Inova Alexandria Hospital - Alexandria
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital - Fairfax
Inova Fairfax Hospital - Falls Church
Inova Loudoun Hosptial - Leesburg
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital - Alexandria
John Randolph Medical Center - Hopewell
LewisGale Hospital-Alleghany - Low Moor
LewisGale Hospital-Montgomery - Blacksburg
LewisGale Hospital-Pulaski - Pulaski
Norvant Health UVA Health System Culpeper Medical Center - Culpeper
Parham Doctors’ Hospital - Richmond
Reston Hospital Center - Reston
Retreat Doctors’ Hospital - Richmond
Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital - Onancock
Riverside Walter Reed Hospital - Gloucester
Utah
Intermountain Alta View – Sandy
Intermountain American Fork Hospital – American Fork
Intermountain Cedar City Hospital – Cedar City
Colorado
Centura Health Castle Rock Adventist Hospital – Castle Rock
Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital – Louisville
Centura Health Longmont United Hospital - Longmont
Idaho
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center – Idaho Falls 
Kootenai Health - Coeur D’Alene
New Jersey
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center – Paramus
Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell – Pennington
Chilton Medical Center – Pompton Plains
North Carolina
AdventHealth Hendersonville – Hendersonville
Atrium Health Mercy Charlotte
Maine
Central Maine Medical Center - Lewiston
Maine Medical Center - Portland
MaineGeneral Medical Center - Augusta
Mainehealth DBA Southern Maine Healthcare - Biddeford
Mid Coast Hospital - Brunswick
Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital - Preque Isle
St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center - Lewistown
Minnesota
Abbott Northwestern Hospital – Minneapolis
Hutchinson Health Hospital - Hutchinson
Lake Region Healthcare - Fergus Falls
Lakeview Hospital - Stillwater
M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital - Edina
Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin - Austin
Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont - Fairmont
Mayo Clinic Health System-Mankato - Mankato
Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Wing - Red Wing
Mayo Clinic Health System-Methodist Campus - Rochester
Mayo Clinic Health System-Saint Marys Campus - Rochester
Methodist Hosptial - St. Louis Park
Olmsted Medical Center - Rochester
Pennsylvania
AHN Grove City -Grove City
Allegheny General Hospital - Pittsburgh
Florida
AdventHealth Altamonte Springs – Altamonte Springs
AdventHealth Carrollwood- Tampa
Oregon
Asante Ashland Community Hospital - Ashland 
Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center - Clackamas
Washington
Cascade Valley Hospital – Arlington
EvergreenHealth – Kirkland
Massachusetts
Baystate Noble Hospital – Westfield
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth
Texas
Ascension Providence – Waco
Baylor University Medical Center - Dallas
Tennessee
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Union City
Claiborne Medical Center - Tazewell
Hawaii
The Queen's Medical Center - Honolulu 
Rhode Island
South County Hospital – Wakefield
Minnesota
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Michigan
Ascension St joseph Hospital – Tawas
Bronson Methodist Hospital – Kalamazoo
Chelsea Hospital - Chelsea
Montana
Billings Clinic – Billings
South Carolina
Beaufort Memorial Hospital - Beaufort
Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital
Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center - Hartsville
Louisiana
Ochsner Medical Center- Baton Rouge – Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge General Medical Center – Baton Rouge
Mississippi
Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle – Columbus 
Kansas
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission
California
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian – Newport
Kaiser Foundation Hospital – San Francisco
Ohio
Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital - Avon
Indiana
Hancock Regional Hospital
Illinois
FHN Memorial Hospital - Freeport
Nevada
Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center – Las Vegas 
Henderson Hospital - Henderson
Georgia
AdventHealth Redmond – Rome
Colquitt Regional Medical Center – Moultrie
Arkansas
Baptist Health Medical Center – Little Rock
NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital - Jonesboro
Connecticut
Greenwich Hospital – Greenwich
Middlesex Hospital - Middletown
Oklahoma
Mercy Hospital Ardmore - Ardmore
Bailey Medical Center LLC - Owasso
Missouri
Centerpoint Medical Center – Independence
Maryland
Anne Arundel Medical Center – Annapolis 
Mercy Medical Center - Baltimore
Kentucky
Baptist Health – Lexington
St. Elizabeth Healthcare – Ft. Thomas
Alaska
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center - Palmer
Delaware
Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus - Milford
Alabama
South Baldwin regional medical Center - Foley
New York
Catholic Health System – Kenmore Mercy Hospital – Kenmore
Huntington Hospital -Huntington
NYU Langone Hospitals -New York City
Wisconsin
Bellin Memorial Hospital – Green Bay
Mayo Clinic Health System – Eau Claire
Wyoming
Ivinson Memorial Hospital - Laramie 
Arizona
Mayo Clinic Hospital – Phoenix
New Mexico
CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical center – Santa Fe
South Dakota
Sanford USD Medical center – Sioux Falls
Nebraska
Kearney Regional Medical Center - Kearney
West Virginia
Greenbrier Valley Medical Center – Ronceverte
Iowa
Lakes Regional Healthcare – Spirit Lake
Vermont
Central Vermont Medical Center – Berlin (There are no A-rated hospitals in Vermont)
North Dakota
Sanford Medical center -Bismarck (There are no A-rated hospitals in North Dakota)
>> Explore nursing jobs hiring now on the Nurse.org job board
When choosing a hospital to work for, it is important to consider its safety rating. The Leapfrog Group rates hospitals based on their ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. By looking at a hospital's Leapfrog score, you can get a sense of how safe it is for nurses to work there.
Hospitals that receive an "A" score are the safest places for nurses to work, while those that receive a "D" or "F" score pose a greater risk to nurse safety. When searching for a new job, be sure to check the Leapfrog scores of potential employers so that you can make an informed decision about which hospital is the best fit for you.
