22/11/2025
I want to speak directly to my patients and to our Savannah and surrounding communities about the recent headlines regarding hospital safety ratings for St. Joseph’s/Candler. As someone who actively admits and cares for patients there, I can confidently say that the recent media coverage does not reflect the reality inside those walls.
The rating being discussed comes from a survey the hospital does not participate in, which means the data behind it is incomplete and cannot provide an accurate picture of patient safety or quality of care. And yet, these incomplete grades have generated a great deal of public concern.
So let me offer the perspective of someone who sees the reality up close.
As mentioned in the original post, St. Joseph’s/Candler has earned the prestigious Magnet Designation for Nursing Excellence six times— a distinction held by only 25 hospitals in the world. Magnet recognition requires years of data, rigorous review, and on-site evaluation with a deep focus on patient safety, nursing performance, and measurable outcomes.
I know exactly what it takes to achieve Magnet status. Before medical school, I worked at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and was directly involved in their first Magnet preparation and acquisition. I witnessed the intensity of the process, the scrutiny, the standards, and the profound level of excellence required.
It is impossible not to feel the weight of trust placed in that institution—parents entrusting their children with cancer to a team committed to the absolute highest standard of care. That same spirit—the same level of competence, compassion, and relentless commitment to patients—is what I see at St. Joseph’s/Candler every time I care for an admitted patient.
When I care for my patients at both campuses, I see nurses who advocate fiercely and communicate with clarity. I see ancillary staff who treat patients with dignity and genuine kindness. I see physicians and care teams who collaborate seamlessly and who take ownership of the smallest details. This is not abstract. These are real people caring for real families with skill and heart.
For nearly 200 years, St. Joseph’s/Candler has been a steady, reliable presence for this community—a ”City on a Hill” for healthcare in Savannah. Not because of ratings or publicity, but because of the decades of consistent, high-quality care delivered by the people within its walls.
I would trust this hospital with my own loved ones without hesitation. And I remain proud to partner with the extraordinary teams at St. Joseph’s/Candler as we continue caring for my beloved patients together.
(Original post shared below.)
Hospital safety ratings: Our clinical teams, physicians, and co-workers at St. Joseph’s/Candler care for your loved ones every day, and they remain deeply committed to the highest standards of patient safety.
There has been some recent media coverage of an organization called Leapfrog that we feel mischaracterizes our hospitals and the effort our co-workers put into patient care.
What many may not realize is that St. Joseph’s/Candler does not participate in the Leapfrog Safety Survey. As a result, their rating is neither complete nor accurate—in fact, it is misleading.
Consider, for example, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where both St. Joseph’s Hospital and Candler Hospital show data that is no different than the national average. These validated, data-driven scores stand in sharp contrast to Leapfrog’s portrayal, which is based on incomplete information. It is essentially like receiving a grade from a school we never attended. No one from Leapfrog has ever visited St. Joseph’s/Candler to assess how we care for our patients.
We stopped participating in the Leapfrog survey eight years ago for several reasons:
💠 We disagreed with their methodology. A significant portion of their grade is based on self-submitted hospital surveys that lack adequate verification.
💠Their survey requires substantial time, resources, and cost—energy we believe is better invested directly in patient safety initiatives.
💠Participation with Leapfrog did not lead to any measurable improvements in safety at our hospitals.
💠CMS provides a far more rigorous, fair, and reliable assessment of hospital safety than a third-party organization that derives much of its revenue from selling licenses that hospitals must purchase to “promote” their scores.
In the months ahead, we will share more about the extensive steps we take to ensure patient safety. For now, it is important to highlight that St. Joseph’s/Candler has earned Magnet Designation for Nursing Excellence six times—a distinction held by only 25 hospitals worldwide. Magnet recognition includes rigorous review and on-site evaluations, with a major focus on improved patient outcomes and safety. We also maintain numerous accreditations from respected organizations that evaluate the quality of care we provide.
We encourage our community to compare the publicly available data from Leapfrog with the validated measures published by CMS. The difference is significant. Ultimately, we trust that our patients and community will judge us by their own experiences and by our two centuries of unwavering commitment to exceptional care—not by an incomplete grade from an external group whose methodology we do not support.
We stand firmly behind our safety, our quality, and the extraordinary co-workers who serve our patients every day. We are grateful for the continued trust and support of our community.
