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.  

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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 

Exeter Hospital – Exeter 

Frisbie Memorial Hospital - Rochester 

Parkland Medical Center - Derry

Portsmouth Regional Hospital - Portsmouth

St. Joseph Hospital of Nashua - Nashua

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital - Dover

Virginia 

Augusta Health – Fishersville 

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 

Buffalo Hospital - Buffalo

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

Owatonna Hosptial - Owatonna

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.