Only 1 Hospital In North Dakota Has Above Average Patient Safety

We have seven major North Dakota hospitals, including two right here in Bismarck.

Those seven hospitals include Sanford Broadway Medical Center, Sanford Medical Center and Essential Health in Fargo, Altru in Grand Forks, Trinity Health in Minot, Sanford Medical Center, and CHI St. Alexius in Bismarck.

Of all these hospitals, only ONE has an above-average patient safety grade.

Did you know that over 400,000 people die every year because of hospital safety problems?  That makes patient safety at hospitals the third leading cause of death in America behind heart disease and cancer.  Those are some sobering statistics that should scare the hell out of you if you should need medical attention at a hospital.

According to The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit they studied patient safety across the country and recently took a look at the state of North Dakota.  As it turns out, only one of those hospitals, you should feel confident about putting your life in their hands.  That would be the bad news.

The good news? None of our hospitals in North Dakota received a "below average" grade either.

Nope, most of them all fell smack dab into the meaty curve of mediocrity.  So, I guess it's not so good news either.

Their data is based on numerous factors in patient safety including, infections, problems with surgery, safety problems, practicing to prevent errors, and doctors, nurses, and hospital staff.

Here's how our North Dakota major hospitals scored on a grade based on A, B, C, D & F!

1. Trinity Health-Minot, North Dakota. "B" Grade.

2  Altru Health System-Grand Forks, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

3. CHI St. Alexius Health-Bismarck, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

4.  Essentia Health-Fargo, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

5. Sanford Broadway Medical Center-Fargo, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

6. Sanford Medical Center-Bismarck, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

7. Sanford Medical Center-Fargo, North Dakota. "C" Grade.

In the article, you can also show past grades. I guess currently in the state of North Dakota when it comes to patient safety, it could be worse, but it could be a lot better too.