How safe are Tacoma-area hospitals? These facilities got A’s for patient care
If you or someone you know needs medical care in the Tacoma area, you’re in luck.
Several hospitals in and near Grit City earned the highest safety grade possible from The Leapfrog Group for fall 2025.
The national nonprofit organization grades close to 3,000 hospitals across the country twice a year “based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.”
Those types of “largely preventable problems harm one in four hospital inpatients and cause as many as 250,000 deaths each year,” according to The Leapfrog Group, which gives grades ranging from A to F.
Here’s a look at how Tacoma-area hospitals fared:
What are the safest hospitals in Tacoma area?
The Leapfrog Group graded a total of 10 general hospitals in the Tacoma area in fall 2025.
Of those, four facilities earned the highest grade possible.
These hospitals were awarded A grades in The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2025 report:
- St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor
- St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma
- Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma
- St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood
Three of the hospitals — St. Anthony, St. Joseph and St. Clare — are part of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health system, while Madigan Army Medical Center is a military hospital on Joint-Base Lewis McChord.
All excelled in multiple areas, from error prevention practices to leadership around patient safety.
St. Anthony Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital received a special distinction — straight A’s — meaning they earned consecutive A’s for more than two years.
“Our teams give their all to serve our patients and ensure we are doing everything in our power to help create healthier communities,” Dr. Hans Cassagnol, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s chief medical officer, said in an email statement.
“Earning such accolades demands relentless dedication to our patients and upholding the highest standards of care, every single day,” Cassagnol added.
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Which Tacoma-area hospitals got B’s for patient care?
Three Tacoma-area hospitals earned B grades from The Leapfrog Group in fall 2025:
- St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way
- MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma
- MultiCare Covington Medical Center in Covington
St. Francis Hospital, part of the Virginia Mason system, excelled in several areas, including medication administration, handwashing and leadership around patient safety, according to The Leapfrog Group.
So did MultiCare’s Tacoma General Hospital and Covington Medical Center.
However, all three hospitals rated below average in some areas, the group said in its report, including staff responsiveness for St. Frances and Tacoma General hospitals and communication about discharge for Covington Medical Center.
“At MultiCare, we are committed to keeping our patients safe and free from harm every day,” officials from that health system said in a statement. “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. We take pride in continuously investing in quality and safety initiatives across all our hospitals — because our patients deserve the very best care.”
Which local hospitals got Cs for safety?
According to The Leapfrog Group, three Tacoma-area hospitals received C grades for patient safety:
- MultiCare Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma
- MultiCare Auburn Medical Center in Auburn
- MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital performed well in error prevention and safety categories, including safe medication administration, handwashing and preventing patient falls.
However, the Tacoma hospital had room to improve in terms of infection prevention and surgery, the report said, including accidental abdominal cuts and tears during procedures.
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center stood out for its positive performance in infection, surgery and error prevention categories, The Leapfrog Group said, but needs to improve its efforts to prevent patient falls and injuries.
Meanwhile, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital excelled in multiple areas, including medication administration, handwashing and nurse staffing.
Some surgery and safety categories showed room for improvement, including bed sore prevention, the report said.
How does The Leapfrog Group grade hospitals?
The Leapfrog Group said it uses up to 32 patient safety measures, from nursing care hours to falls, in its grading.
It relies on experts to help select the measures and create the methodology, using publicly available data.
Leapfrog doesn’t grade some types of hospitals, including specialty hospitals and children’s hospitals, the group said.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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