Most unsafe hospitals in the Charlotte area: See the spring report’s ratings
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- North Carolina is tied for eighth safest state for healthcare in Spring 2026.
- Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital received the only C grade in the Charlotte area.
- Leapfrog used data on 32 safety measures and reports five patient experience measures.
North Carolina is still in the top ten safest states for healthcare, according to a national watchdog, but one Charlotte hospital received a C grade.
The Leapfrog Group released its Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades evaluating hospitals with letter grades from A to F. North Carolina is tied for 8th in the country with Maryland, a slight drop from the fall.
The Observer previously reported on the safest local hospitals in the 2026 Leapfrog report.
Here’s a closer look at Charlotte’s grades and what they mean.
How are grades calculated?
Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are assigned twice a year, in the spring and fall. The Hospital Safety Grade program was established in 2012.
Grades are assigned using letters, with A as the best grade and F as the worst. The grades are assigned using data from various public sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
A Florida judge recently ordered Leapfrog to scrub poor patient safety grades for several Florida hospitals, The Miami Herald reported. The judge described the methodology as misleading, and “punitive” for healthcare systems that choose not to participate.
In a video explaining how to use the hospital safety grades, Leapfrog recommends using them to inform your decision when researching hospitals near you. Leapfrog offers a search tool on the homepage at hospitalsafetygrade.org. Hospitals are searchable by hospital name, city and state, just state, or ZIP code.
What makes a hospital safe?
Leapfrog evaluates hospital safety based on the prevention of medical errors, illnesses, injuries and infections.
The group uses up data on 32 safety measures to evaluate hospitals. If a hospital is missing too many pieces of data, the hospital is not graded. Leapfrog reports on five patient experience measures that directly impact patient safety:
- Nurse communication
- Doctor communication
- Staff responsiveness
- Communication about medicine
- Discharge information
Charlotte hospital C grades
Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital in Mooresville received the only C in the Charlotte area. The Observer reached out to the hospital on Tuesday, May 12 and is awaiting a response.
The hospital performed worse than average on urinary tract infections, patients falls and injuries, falls causing broken hips and communications about medicines. It also performed below average in five of six categories relating to hospital staff:
- Effective leadership to prevent errors
- Nursing and bedside care for patients
- Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients
- Communication with nurses
- Responsiveness of hospital staff
Ungraded hospitals
Piedmont Medical Center was not assigned a grade.
“Please be advised that Leapfrog is not assigning spring 2026 Safety Grades to hospitals that did not participate in the 2024 or 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey,” the Leapfrog website reads.
The Observer reached out to the hospital on May 12 and is awaiting a response.
No Charlotte-area hospitals received D or failing grades in the spring 2026 report.
Portions of this story were previously published in The Charlotte Observer.
