(This article was updated to add new information.)
When you or a loved one are sick or need life-saving care, nothing is more important than a safe hospital with a track record of preventing complications.
The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit that has been evaluating and reporting on hospitals’ safety and quality, and “grading” them since 2000, releasing biannual lists of hospital grades in all 50 states. The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2025 list was recently released, with the latest grades for 192 hospitals in Florida.
Here’s which Florida hospitals made an “A” grade on Leapfrog’s most recent list and which hospitals received “D” and “F” grades.
Where are the best hospitals in Florida? See which hospitals earned ‘A’ grade
To grade each hospital, Leapfrog uses 22 evidence-based metrics that measure patient safety, focusing on the ability to prevent medical errors, infections, accidents, and other avoidable harms, and assigns each hospital a grade from A to F.
“The Safety Grade uses national publicly available data from a variety of sources,” Leapfrog’s methodology says. “However, because of inadequate data, we are unable to assign a grade to certain hospitals, such as critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, children’s hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, etc.”
Here’s a list of the types of hospitals Leapfrog does not assign grades to:
Of the 192 Florida hospitals on Leapfrog’s list, 72 made “A” grades. Here they are:
Which Florida hospitals got ‘D’ or ‘F’ ratings?
Only seven Florida hospitals received “D” grades, and one received an “F.” Here they are:
To see how Delray Medical Center – the only Florida hospital on the list that received an “F” grade – scored in each metric and category, and the average scores for other hospitals, visit Leapfrog’s website.
The Palm Beach Health Network (PBHN), which Delray Medical Center is part of, filed a lawsuit against Leapfrog, alleging that the nonprofit’s methodology is “inaccurate, corrupt, and misleading.” PBHN issued a statement via email to the USA TODAY Network-Florida, following the release of Leapfrog’s most recent ratings list.
“Leapfrog’s business model relies on hospitals participating in its annual survey to drive revenue. Over the past year, Leapfrog has deliberately changed its Hospital Safety Grade scoring methodology to punish hospitals that decline to participate in its survey — without scientific basis or expert report, and instead for commercial reasons,” the statement said.
“The result is a system built on inaccurate data and pressure tactics that mislead the public and damage hospitals’ reputations.”
PBHN is a division of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, whose attorneys say Leapfrog’s ratings aren’t just inaccurate, but “sinister,” according to a lawsuit filed in April.
“Tenet is attempting to shoot the messenger instead of addressing the serious patient safety problems,” Leapfrog attorney Kimberly Blair wrote in emails to Tenet’s lawyers in January.
Contributing: Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Where are the best hospitals in Florida? 8 got ‘D’ and ‘F’ ratings on this list
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
