AARP Report Reveals How Top Hospitals Fight Errors and How Patients Can Protect Themselves

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Each year, more than 180,000 people die in U.S. hospitals from preventable accidents and errors. What’s more, an estimated one-third of hospital admissions result in harm to a patient. To call attention to these tragic realities, AARP The Magazine teamed up with the nonprofit organization The Leapfrog Group to highlight the innovative steps some hospitals are taking to protect the health of their patients.


“We want to bring light to a serious issue affecting thousands of people in this country each year that for some reason doesn’t get reported in the news as often as it should,” said Nancy Graham, vice president and editor of AARP The Magazine. “As important as it is for us to tackle this issue that so many older Americans and patients nationwide are facing, we also want to understand what hospitals are doing to improve and innovate institutional safety. We hope by spotlighting some of the hospitals that are excelling in safety, we will encourage all healthcare providers to revisit their current procedures and strive to deliver the best care possible.”


The April/May issue, in-homes and online now, showcases these “safety superstars” in the magazine’s first ever “Health” issue. From creating patient alerts to implementing electronic medical recordkeeping, AARP The Magazine reveals what these groundbreaking hospitals are doing to prevent mistakes and how patients can properly arm themselves against preventable errors.


“Contrary to what most people think, Americans do have a choice when it comes to hospitals.” said Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that have an “A” Hospital Safety Score are the safest in America and the sample listed in AARP The Magazine highlight the great things being done at some hospitals to keep patients safe. We hope this will encourage people to check the scores of their local hospital and speak up in their community if it is below an “A” when it comes to safety.”


The following are some of the hospitals featured:


  • Allegheny General Hospital (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, MA)
  • Billings Clinic (Billings, MT)
  • Dublin Methodist Hospital (Dublin, OH)
  • Grinnell Regional Medical Center (Grinnell, IA)
  • JFK Medical Center Of Atlantis (Atlantis, FL)
  • Mayo Clinic Hospital (Phoenix, AZ)
  • The Methodist Hospital (Houston, TX)
  • MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital (Puyallup, WA)
  • Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)
  • St. David’s Georgetown Hospital (Georgetown, TX)
  • St. Mary’s Hospital of Rochester (Rochester, MN)
  • Takoma Regional Hospital (Greeneville, TN)
  • Wyoming Medical Center (Casper, WY)


The complete list of hospital safety standouts can be found online at www.aarp.org/safehospitals. Additionally, AARP The Magazine has created a “Safe Patient Room Of The Future” infographic detailing 16 technological but still realistic improvements to hospital rooms that would enhance patient safety and drastically lower hospital mistakes. For access to the online interactive tool, check out www.aarp.org/patientroom.