Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1545410
10 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES Hospital shootings rose 8.4% annually from 2012 to 2024: Study By Mackenzie Bean T he rate of hospital-based shootings in the U.S. has grown steadily since 2012, with researchers warning that nearly a third of incidents could be prevented with weapons screening, according to a study published May 4 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic conducted a systematic review of acute care hospital shooting events in the U.S. from 2012 through 2024, incorporating previously published data from 2000 to 2011 to assess trends over a 25-year span. Events were identified through news database searches and the Gun Violence Archive, and were included only if they resulted in at least one injury and occurred within or on the immediate property of a hospital. Nine study findings: 1. The prevalence of shootings increased about 8.4% annually from 14 shootings in 2012 to 34 in 2024. 2. Overall, researchers identified 327 shooting events over this time period, up from the 154 events previously reported between 2000 and 2011. 3. The most common locations for incidents were parking lots and outdoor sites (45.6%), followed by hospital floors (18%) and emergency departments (17.7%). 4. Current or former patients made up the largest identifiable group of perpetrators at 31.8%. 5. About 31.2% of all injured individuals were hospital staff, followed by patients and police law enforcement officers at 12.7% each. 6. Ninety-six percent of shootings occurred at hospitals in urban settings, and 49% were in the South. 7. Large hospitals — those with 400 or more beds — recorded the highest rate at 258.1 events per 1,000 hospitals, though medium-sized facilities (100–399 beds) accounted for the largest share of total events (49.8%). 8. Suicide was the most common identifiable motive (30.9%), followed by mental instability (15.6%) and personal grudges (11.6%). 9. Researchers determined about 32% of shootings could have potentially been prevented with weapons screening technology, such as magnetometers or passive weapons detectors. n 6 ways hospitals are becoming safer: Leapfrog By Paige Twenter S afety data from hundreds of U.S. hospitals shows progress across several measures, and patient experience is improving, too, according to e Leapfrog Group. On May 6, the patient safety organization published its biannual hospital ratings, which grade hospitals from "A" to "F" based on 22 patient safety measures from CMS and Leapfrog's voluntary survey. Leapfrog, which has assigned letter grades to U.S. hospitals since 2012, highlighted the following patient safety improvements in its spring 2026 ratings: • Central line-associated bloodstream infections fell 50% since fall 2022. • Catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased 45% since fall 2022. • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus cases declined 42% since fall 2022. • Clostridium difficile cases decreased 30% since fall 2022. • In 2025, 90% of hospitals met Leapfrog's standard in computerized physician order entry, which can reduce common prescribing errors. In 2018, this figure was 66%. • In 2025, 93% of hospitals reported using bar code medication administration systems, an increase from 47% in 2018. Five CMS patient experience measures used by Leapfrog — nurse communication, physician communication, staff responsiveness, communication about medicine and discharge information — have improved by an average of one point since fall 2023. In total, Leapfrog said its spring 2026 safety grades found 17 improved measures in medical errors and infections. Five Florida hospitals recently filed a lawsuit against Leapfrog, accusing the organization for assigning lower safety grades due to nonparticipation in its survey. A federal judge ruled in the hospitals' favor March 6. e organization said it is pursuing an appeal to the judge's ruling, which ordered Leapfrog to pull the grades for the five Florida hospitals. In the spring 2026 ratings, Leapfrog did not grade about 450 hospitals that did not participate in its survey. n