Watchdog Group Reveals Louisiana’s Least Safe Hospitals

(KMDL-FM) There has been a lot of talk about healthcare and how to afford healthcare over the past several months. While the talking heads in Washington and Baton Rouge figure that out, we thought we'd take a look at who is actually providing the healthcare for you and me. And we found out Louisiana, as a whole, has improved its hospital safety, but there are still five facilities that have been rated as the "least safe" in the state.

We want to make sure you understand there is a difference between "unsafe" and "least safe". Unsafe means it's dangerous and you shouldn't attempt; "least safe" means when compared to other facilities. We are not casting aspersions on the facilities that were named with lower grades than other facilities; we are simply showing the need for improvement.

READ MORE: How Does Louisiana's Healthcare Spending Rank in the U.S.?

READ MORE: Dear Louisiana Healthcare, It's 2025, It's Time To Stop Using This

Let's start out with good news about Louisiana healthcare. Overall, the state's hospitals stepped up their game according to the Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that acts as a watchdog for healthcare transparency for patient safety.

How Safe Are Louisiana Hospitals?

The group is widely known for its Hospital Safety Grades. Each hospital studied is assigned a letter grade, A, B, C, D, or F, based on performance in preventing errors, accidents, injuries, or infections. According to the Leapfrog Group, Louisiana hospitals now rank at #11 in the country.

The state is tied with Colorado with 40.4% of hospitals earning an "A" ranking in the Leapfrog Group's Fall study. That number for Louisiana is up from 34.5% in the Spring 2025 report.

If you'd like to see the Louisiana Hospitals that earned an "A" grade, that information is available via the Leapfrog Group website. You may also view the reports on the hospitals that earned grades of B, C, and D. Louisiana did not have any facility that earned an "F" rating, but one hospital, Mercy Regional Medical Center in Ville Platte, did not receive a grade.

Get our free mobile app

Which Louisiana Hospitals Earned the Lowest Grades?

Other facilities across the state that scored the lowest in the Leapfrog Group study were Northern Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston, Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, and Acadiana Medical Center in Eunice. Each of those facilities earned a grade of "D" in the Leapfrog Group report. 

If it makes you feel any better, four states, Iowa, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, don't have any hospitals that earned an "A" grade. The next Leapfrog Group report is scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2026.