4 CA Hospitals Earn "D" Grades, 113 Earn 'A' Grades In New Hospital Safety Ranking

A new hospital safety report released Wednesday shows that 113 hospitals in California earned "A" grades for their ability to protect patients from often preventable harm.

The Leapfrog Group's Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades are a biannual ranking that assigns "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" letter grades to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

In California, there are 48 "straight A" hospitals and 65 "A" hospitals, according to the ranking.

Straight "A" hospitals in California are:

• Adventist Health Glendale
• Adventist Health Hanford
• Adventist Health Selma
• Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
• Eisenhower Medical Center
• French Hospital Medical Center
• Hoag Hospital Irvine
• Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
• Kaiser Permanente - Downey Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - San Diego Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Manteca Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Modesto Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Orange County - Anaheim Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Orange County - Irvine Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center
• Keck Hospital of USC
• Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus
• Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrieta
• Marian Regional Medical Center
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital
• Mercy Medical Center
• Mercy San Juan Medical Center
• Methodist Hospital of Sacramento
• Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
• Montclair Hospital Medical Center
• Northridge Hospital Medical Center-Roscoe Boulevard Campus
• Novato Community Hospital
• Palmdale Regional Medical Center
• Paradise Valley Hospital
• Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center
• Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
• Scripps Green Hospital
• Scripps Memorial Hospital of Encinitas
• Sequoia Hospital
• Shasta Regional Medical Center
• Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital
• St. Elizabeth Community Hospital
• St. John’s Hospital Camarillo
• Stanford Health Care
• Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
• UC San Diego Health La Jolla - Jacobs Medical Center and Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center
• Woodland Memorial Hospital

"A" hospitals are:

• Adventist Health - Bakersfield
• Adventist Health - Delano
• Adventist Health Sonora
• Adventist Health Specialty Bakersfield
• Adventist Health Tulare
• Adventist Health White Memorial
• AHMC Anaheim Regional Medical Center
• Alameda Hospital
• Alhambra Hospital Medical Center
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
• Anaheim Global Medical Center
• Arroyo Grande Community Hospital
• Barton Memorial Hospital
• California Pacific Medical Center - Mission Bernal Campus
• Chino Valley Medical Center
• Coast Plaza Hospital
• Corona Regional Medical Center
• Desert Valley Hospital
• Eden Medical Center
• Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center
• JFK Memorial Hospital
• Kaiser Permanente - Los Angeles Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - Moreno Valley Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - Panorama City Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - West Los Angeles Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center
• Kaweah Health
• Marshall Medical Center
• Memorial Hospital Los Banos
• Memorial Medical Center
• MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
• Natividad Medical Center
• Palomar Medical Center Poway
• Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center
• Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance
• Providence Mission Hospital Laguna Beach
• Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center
• Providence St. Jude Medical Center
• Salinas Valley Health Medical Center
• San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital
• Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital
• Scripps Mercy Hospital of Chula Vista
• Scripps Mercy Hospital of San Diego
• St. Francis Medical Center
• St. John's Regional Medical Center of Oxnard
• Sutter Amador Hospital
• Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital
• Sutter Coast Hospital
• Sutter Davis Hospital
• Sutter Delta Medical Center
• Sutter Medical Center
• Sutter Roseville Medical Center
• Sutter Solano Medical Center
• Temecula Valley Hospital
• UC San Diego Health East Campus - East Campus Medical Center
• UC San Diego Health Hillcrest - Hillcrest Medical Center
• UCI Health – Orange
• USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
• Washington Hospital Healthcare System
• Watsonville Community Hospital
• Whittier Hospital Medical Center

"B" hospitals are:

• 60th Medical Group, Travis AFB
• Adventist Health and Rideout
• Adventist Health Lodi Memorial
• Adventist Health St. Helena
• AHMC Seton Medical Center
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Campus
• Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
• California Pacific Medical Center - Davies Campus
• California Pacific Medical Center - Van Ness Campus
• Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital
• Centinela Hospital Medical Center
• Desert Regional Medical Center
• Dominican Hospital
• El Camino Hospital
• Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital
• Encino Hospital Medical Center
• Enloe Health
• Greater El Monte Community Hospital
• Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
• Huntington Hospital
• John Muir Health Medical Center Concord
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Richmond
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Roseville
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Sacramento
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Rosa
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Vallejo
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek
• Kaiser Permanente - San Marcos Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - South Bay Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente - Woodland Hills Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center
• Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center
• Kern Medical
• La Palma Intercommunity Hospital
• Los Angeles County - Olive View UCLA Medical Center
• Los Angeles General Medical Center
• Los Robles Health System - Los Robles Regional Medical Center
• MarinHealth Medical Center
• MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center
• Mercy General Hospital
• Mercy Hospital - Downtown
• Mercy Hospital - Southwest
• Mercy Hospital of Folsom
• Mercy Medical Center of Redding
• Monterey Park Hospital
• Naval Medical Center San Diego
• NorthBay Medical Center
• Palomar Medical Center Escondido
• Petaluma Valley Hospital
• Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro
• Providence Mission Hospital Mission Viejo
• Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
• Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
• Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka
• Regional Medical Center of San Jose
• Riverside University Health System - Medical Center
• Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
• San Dimas Community Hospital
• San Gabriel Valley Medical Center
• San Leandro Hospital
• Scripps Memorial Hospital of La Jolla
• Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center
• Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center
• Sharp Grossmont Hospital
• Sharp Memorial Hospital
• Sherman Oaks Hospital
• South Coast Global Medical Center
• St. Bernardine Medical Center
• St. Joseph's Medical Center of Stockton
• St. Mary Medical Center of Long Beach
• Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
• Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
• UCI Health - Fountain Valley
• UCLA Medical Center of Santa Monica
• UCSF Health - Mission Bay
• UCSF Health, Saint Francis Hospital
• UCSF Health, St. Mary’s Hospital
• UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights
• UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion
• Valley Presbyterian Hospital
• West Anaheim Medical Center

Additionally, 67 hospitals received a "C" and four —El Centro Regional Medical Center, Los Angeles Community Hospital, Norwalk Community Hospital, Pioneers Memorial Hospital — got a "D" grade.

Patch has reached out to those hospitals for a response to the ranking.

Norwalk Community Hospital's grade is an improvement from last year's "F" grade. At the time, hospital officials told Patch, "The grades issued to our California hospitals do not accurately reflect their safety levels. The grades are based on incomplete information as we are in the process of submitting a late response. We expect that our hospitals will receive higher safety grades once our responses are submitted.”

California ranks 10th among all states for the percentage of hospitals receiving "A" grades in the spring 2026 report card.

Leapfrog said its biannual report — the only national ratings program focused exclusively on patient safety — shows improvement in 17 measures, including health care-associated infections, medication safety systems and patient experience.

"The good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives," Leah Binder, the group's president and CEO, said in a news release.

After peaking in fall 2022, several health care-associated infections declined sharply, according to the report. Central line-associated bloodstream infections fell by half; catheter-associated urinary tract infections dropped 45 percent; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections declined 42 percent; and serious intestinal infections linked to antibiotic use went down 30 percent.

The report also found gains in medication safety. Use of computerized physician order entry systems, which can flag prescribing errors, rose from 66 percent of hospitals meeting Leapfrog standards in 2018 to 90 percent in 2025. Adoption of barcode medication administration systems increased from 47 percent to 93 percent over the same period.

Patient experience scores, measured through Medicare and other federal surveys, have improved since hitting a low in fall 2023, rising by about one point on average across five safety-related measures, including communication with nurses and doctors and responsiveness of hospital staff.

Among states, Connecticut, Virginia and South Carolina had the highest share of A-rated hospitals, followed by Utah, Montana, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and California. Montana and Maryland entered the top 10 for the first time, while Florida rose from 15th place in fall 2025 to seventh. No hospitals in North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont or Wyoming received an A grade.

About 450 hospitals were not assigned grades after a federal court ruling in South Florida involving several facilities that did not participate in Leapfrog's 2024 or 2025 survey. The group said it applied the change nationwide and is appealing the decision while reviewing its methodology.

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