Long Island, NY hospitals, like others across the U.S., have improved in infection control post-COVID-19 pandemic, based on the latest report from The Leapfrog Group released in Fall 2023. The independent healthcare watchdog awarded safety grades to nearly 3,000 hospitals, demonstrating a notable reduction in infections contrasted with a worrying decline in patient experience scores for two consecutive years.
In the assessment, which applied an academic A-F grading scale, Long Island saw seven out of its 22 hospitals achieve an “A” grade, reflecting the highest safety standards. An equal number received “B” and “C” grades respectively, while one was rated with a “D.”
The top-performing hospitals in Long Island are:
- Peconic Bay Medical Center, Riverhead
- South Shore University Hospital, Bay Shore
- NYU Langone Hospital Long Island, Mineola
- St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn
- Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson
- St. Charles Hospital, Port Jefferson
- Syosset Hospital, Syosset
Receiving “B” grades were:
- North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset
- Huntington Hospital, Huntington
- Glen Cove Hospital, Glen Cove
- Long Island Jewish Hospital, New Hyde Park
- St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bethpage
- Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
- Stony Brook University Hospital
While hospitals earning “C” grades included:
- Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Greenport
- Long Island Community Hospital at NYU Langone, East Patchogue
- Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, Oceanside
- Good Samaritan Hospital, West Islip
- Plainview Hospital, Plainview
- Long Island Jewish Hospital – Valley Stream
- St. Catherine of Siena, Smithtown
Performance varied, with some hospitals showing marked improvement, such as Peconic Bay and South Shore University Hospital, both rising from lower grades to an “A.” In contrast, hospitals like Huntington and Manhasset saw a decrease from “A” to “B” grades. Still, others maintained consistent performance over time.
Nassau University Medical Center continued to struggle with safety, maintaining a “D” grade since approximately 2020.
Nationwide, the Fall 2023 Leapfrog report — the first to utilize data following the pandemic — revealed that 30 percent of hospitals scored an “A,” 24 percent a “B,” 39 percent a “C,” and 7 percent a “D.” Under 1 percent received an “F.”
The report highlighted a decrease in dangerous infections like MRSA, central-line bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections with 19 percent of hospitals improving across these three areas, while 66 percent showed improvement in at least one area. Yet, 16 percent showed no progress or worsening conditions.
Leapfrog’s president, Leah Binder, acknowledged the positive trend in infection control but expressed concern over the downward trend in patient experience, a consistent observation across all states since fall 2021. Leapfrog’s ratings focus exclusively on a hospital’s efficacy in preventing errors and protecting patient safety.
