The Best Hospitals On Long Island 2019
If you get injured over the holiday weekend, you might want to think twice about which hospital you visit. The Leapfrog Group recently ranked hospitals in New York at 43rd in the nation for health and safety. Only 11 out of the 146 hospitals evaluated received an A-rating, with merely three located on Long Island.
Hospitals with advanced equipment and high rated doctors are not always considered safe. Even the best medical centers are capable of making fatal mistakes when safety measures are neglected. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the country, resulting in over 400,000 patient deaths every year, according to John Hopkins University. Hospital mistakes during care can occur for several reasons, some including:
- medication errors;
- lack of communication;
- lapses in hospital organization;
- technical failures; or
- staffing shortages.
When hospital safety issues are not addressed, patient injuries and fatalities soar. Long Islanders should be aware of which hospitals in their community are falling behind in health and safety measures to avoid becoming a victim of medical negligence. Knowing the local hospitals you can trust in the case of an emergency could save your life or the life of someone you love.
Long Island Hospital Grades
Leapfrog reviewed a total of 23 medical facilities across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Over 65 percent of the hospitals received an average rating or below, while only three achieved a satisfactory A-rating.
Here is the full list of Long Island hospitals reviewed for each county and how they scored:
Suffolk County
- Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson (A)
- St. Charles Hospital, Port Jefferson (A)
- Northwell Health – Huntington Hospital, Huntington (B)
- Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, West Islip (B)
- St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Smithtown (B)
- Northwelll Health System – Southside Hospital, Bay Shore (C)
- Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook (C)
- Peconic Bay Medical Center, Riverhead (C)
- Southampton Hospital, Southampton (C)
- Eastern Long Island Hospital, Greenport (C)
- Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Patchogue (D)
Nassau County
- St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center, Roslyn (A)
- NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola (B)
- North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset (B)
- Northwell Health System – Glen Cove Hospital, Glen Cove (C)
- Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park (C)
- South Nassau Communities Hospital, Oceanside (C)
- Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, Valley Stream (C)
- St. Joseph Hospital, Bethpage (C)
- Northwell Health System – Plainview Hospital, Plainview (C)
- Northwell Health System – Syosset Hospital, Syosset (C)
- Mercy Medical Center, Rockville Centre (D)
- Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow (D)
The Leapfrog Group assigns their grades by scoring each hospital on 28 performance measures split between five categories: infections, problems with surgery, practices preventing errors, safety problems, and staffing (doctors, nurses, etc.). All measures chosen are essential to maintaining patient safety, but Leapfrog identifies the following three measures as critical – hand washing, infections in the blood, and patient fall rates. If your hospital does not score well in these areas, you might want to consider switching to another before you need medical care.
Why The Grades Matter
Not all hospitals are safe. Hospitals are large institutions with thousands of revolving patients and staff. When these facilities allow safety measures to lapse or remain unaddressed, medical errors can spiral out of control. Preventable mistakes caused by negligence can be reduced if hospitals follow safety protocols and preventive measures, but they can’t always do it alone.
The Leapfrog Group has been utilizing their hospital grading system to guide medical facilities for almost 20 years. Some hospitals lack the understanding of how to address safety measures, while others are unaware of when their methods have been ineffective. By giving hospitals a letter grade, these facilities have a goal to strive towards. Grading systems help hospitals identify their areas of need to provide the quality care their patients expect and deserve.
Help Keep Your Family Safe
Until more hospitals and medical centers on Long Island improve their safety measures, patients must learn to advocate for their health. Leapfrog recommends following these three steps to keep you and your loved ones safe during a hospital stay:
- Learn how to prepare for the hospital: If you know you will be staying in the hospital, learn what to look for. Ask questions about your medications, treatment, and procedures to help check for errors.
- Talk to your doctor: Don’t be afraid to ask your doctors and about how they respond to medical errors. Ask your doctor to describe the plan if something goes wrong during your procedure. Having a loved one present during these conversations can also be helpful.
- Review patient resources: Leapfrog provides tons of resources patients can use to take control of their health. Click here for more information on patient resources and tools.
New York City and Long Island Medical Malpractice Attorneys
At the law firm of Siler & Ingber, our dedicated team has been standing up for the medical rights of patients in New York City and Long Island for over 20 years. We understand the complexity of medical malpractice cases, and the laws associated with the duty of care medical facilities are obligated to provide. If you or a loved one has been injured or died due to medical negligence, our winning team of medical malpractice attorneys is here for support. Contact us today at 1-877-529-4343, or reach out online to schedule an appointment.