20 hospitals in Washington state got ‘C’ grades for safety. See which ones
When it comes to safety, some hospitals in Washington state score better than others.
A total of 20 hospitals in the Evergreen State got “C” grades for patient care in The Leapfrog Group’s latest report
The nonprofit organization, which is focused on increasing safety and transparency in the U.S. health system,, issues Hospital Safety Grade reports twice a year for general hospitals across the United States.
Grades are based on hospitals’ ability to “protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections,” The Leapfrog Group said.
The most recent report, released May 6, includes more than 40 hospitals across Washington state.
Here’s which medical care facilities scored the lowest:
How does The Leapfrog Group evaluate hospitals?
The Leapfrog Group grades hospitals on a scale from A to F, with A being the highest grade and F the lowest.
The grade system is the only hospital rating focused entirely on patient safety, according to a May 6 news release from the nonprofit.
The nonprofit analyzes up to 22 measures in five key categories: infections, problems with surgery, safety problems, practices to prevent errors and doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
These measures, which include hand hygiene, medication administration and communication factors, are used to determine a grade representing a hospital’s “performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors,” according to The Leapfrog Group’s methodology report.
“The good news is that hospitals across the country are making meaningful strides in patient safety and helping save countless lives,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in the news release. “But not all hospitals are the same. That’s why it’s so important for people to ... do their research when choosing a hospital.”
Here’s which Washington hospitals got the lowest safety scores:
How safe are hospitals in Washington state?
In a state-by-state ranking, Washington state placed 40th in the nation for hospital safety, with 18.8% of hospitals receiving “A” grades in The Leapfrog Group’s latest report.
That places the Evergreen State just under Missouri and just above Hawai’i.
Connecticut took the top spot, with more than 64% of hospitals in the state receiving “A” grades for patient care.
Across Washington state, 41 states received grades from The Leapfrog Group in spring 2026. About half of the hospitals graded in Washington state — 21 — received “A” or “B” grades. Six of those earned “straight A” status, indicating that they’ve received As for at least five consecutive grade reports.
The remaining 20 hospitals received “C” grades, according to The Leapfrog Group.
No hospital in Washington state received a “D” or “F” grade in the spring 2026 report.
For its spring 2026 report, The Leapfrog Group said it did not assign grades to 450 hospitals nationwide that chose not to participate in its 2024 or 2025 survey. Instead, those facilities were labeled as “grade not assigned.”
Some hospitals are not evaluated at all, including critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, mental health facilities and any hospitals missing too many scores in their dataset, The Leapfrog Group said.
Which Western Washington hospitals got ‘C’ grades?
Across Western Washington, a total of 15 hospitals received “C” grades in spring 2026, according to The Leapfrog Group.
Providence hospitals in Centralia and Everett both made this list, with low scores in staffing measures including effective leadership and practices to prevent errors such as handwashing.
The remaining Western Washington hospitals with “C” grades were located in Thurston, Pierce or King counties.
What are most unsafe hospitals in Olympia area?
Two hospitals in Thurston County received “C” grades from The Leapfrog Group.
Both were in Olympia.
MultiCare Capital Medical Center received low scores in preventing serious breathing problems during surgery and preventing numerous infections.
Providence St. Peter Hospital, which received its seventh-straight C, got low scores for preventing numerous infections and its efforts to prevent surgical problems.
Which Tacoma-area hospitals got Cs for safety?
Three hospitals in Pierce County received “C” grades, including two in Tacoma:
- MultiCare Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma
- MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup
- Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma has received “C” grades in all of the past six grade reports but one, receiving a “B” in spring 2025.
It performed worse than average in almost every measure related to surgical problems, including accidental cuts, blood leakages and serious breathing problems.
The hospital was missing some data for the category focused on infections, but it performed below average in every infection-related measure that was evaluated.
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup performed below average in terms for fighting numerous infections, including blood infections.
The hospital got below-average scores for about half of the measures related to surgical problems, including blood leakages and deaths from serious treatable complications, with above-average scores for the other half.
Tacoma General Hospital performed worse than average for its work to prevent surgical problems and infection rates. It also got low scores for communication with nurses and staff responsiveness.
Where are low-scoring hospitals in Seattle area?
The majority of hospitals that received “C” grades in Washington state in The Leapfrog Group’s latest report were located in King County:
- Harborview Medical Center in Seattle
- MultiCare Auburn Medical Center in Auburn
- MultiCare Covington Medical Center in Covington
- Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue
- Swedish Health Services in Issaquah
- Swedish Medical Center First Hill in Seattle
- University of Washington Medical Center, Northwest Campus in Seattle
- Valley Medical Center in Renton
What are Eastern Washington state’s least safe hospitals?
These Eastern Washington hospitals got “C” grades in The Leapfrog Group’s latest report:
- Confluence Health Hospital Central Campus in Wenatchee
- Confluence Health Hospital Mares Campus in Wenatchee
- Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland
- MultiCare Deaconess Hospital in Spokane
- Providence Holy Family Hospital in Spokane
Kadlec Regional Medical Center performed worse than average in multiple infection-related measures, including efforts to prevent blood infections and urinary tract infections.
The Richland hospital also had lower-than-average scores in terms of some practices to prevent errors, such as handwashing and safe medication administration.
However, it scored above average in most measures relating to surgical problems, except accidental cuts and tears, according to The Leapfrog Group.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "20 hospitals in Washington state got ‘C’ grades for safety. See which ones."