Only 2 North Dakota Hospitals Have 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 Essentia 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 TWO have an above-average patient safety grade.

That's actually up from the last survey, so we are moving in the right direction in North Dakota, albeit at a very slow pace.

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 that studies patient safety across the country twice each year, they recently took a look at the state of North Dakota for the Spring of 25. They previously surveyed the state in the fall of 2024.

It now appears you have TWO hospitals in the state, where you can feel somewhat confident about putting your life in their hands.  That would be the good news. The bad news, all the rest of the hospitals in our state received the EXACT same score this spring as they did last fall. At least they're consistent.

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

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 individual North Dakota major hospitals scored during the fall of 24 studies based on a grade of A, B, C, D & F!

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

2. CHI St. Alexius Health-Bismarck, North Dakota. "B" Grade. (NEW-up from a "C" grade)

3.  Altru Health System-Grand Forks, 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.