By DAN MARGOLIES

Only three Kansas City area hospitals received grades of A in the latest hospital safety report card issued by The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit group founded by large employers that aims to improve hospital quality and safety.

The three — Belton Regional Medical Center, Research Medical Center and Shawnee Mission Medical Center — were among 19 area hospitals surveyed by Leapfrog. Five of the hospitals received grades of B and the rest got C’s.

The grades are based on 28 weighted measures that assess hospitals’ ability to prevent errors, injuries and infections. Some health experts say that 4 percent of patients acquire infections in hospitals. And Leapfrog says as many as 1,000 patients die each day in the United States because of preventable hospital errors.

The new survey of 2,520 general hospitals across the U.S. updates an earlier April survey. In the new survey, 31 percent of the hospitals earned an A, 27 percent got a B, 34 percent received a C, 6 percent got a D and 1 percent earned an F.

“While the data tells us that hospitals are improving their safe practices, it’s concerning to see them moving backwards on any measure,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, said in a statement.

“Patients enter a hospital trusting they’re in a safe place, but with 41 percent of hospitals receiving a ‘C,’ ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade, it’s clear that some hospitals are safer than others.”

Hospitals showed improvement on all 15 “process” measures, such as hand hygiene and physician staffing in intensive care units, according to Leapfrog. But the group said the data also showed a lack of progress on outcomes, such as a sponge or tool left in a patient’s body.

The data have limitations; much of it, for instance, is based on information that’s a couple of years old. And hospitals that received top grades are not immune to error. Leapfrog noted, for example, that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas received an A based on it past performance but recently mishandled the diagnosis of an Ebola patient who later died.

Leapfrog is one of many private organizations that compile hospital safety information. The federal government does too; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posts safety information on its Hospital Compare website, although it has major limitations.

The groups often use different measures of safety, so hospitals that rank high in some lists rank low in others.

Not included in Leapfrog’s survey are children’s hospitals, critical access hospitals, military and veteran’s hospitals, hospitals in Maryland and small hospitals, none of which provide the data needed to compile the safety scores.

Neither Missouri nor Kansas fared particularly well based on their percentage of hospitals that received grades of A. Missouri ranked 29th by that standard, with only 11 of 60 hospitals receiving an A. Kansas ranked 35th, with only 4 of 32 hospitals earning the top grade.

Kansas, however, improved from a year earlier, when it ranked No. 44. Missouri’s ranking remained unchanged.

The top state, again based on percentage of hospitals receiving an A, was Maine, followed by Massachusetts and Virginia. Tied for worst were North Dakota and the District of Columbia, then Utah, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Here are the 19 Kansas City area hospitals in the latest Leapfrog survey and their grades:

Belton Regional Medical Center: A
Research Medical Center: A
Shawnee Mission Medical Center: A
Centerpoint Medical Center: B
North Kansas City Hospital: B
Providence Medical Center: B
Saint Luke’s South Hospital: B
St. Mary’s Medical Center of Blue Springs: B
Lee’s Summit Medical Center: C
Liberty Hospital: C
Menorah Medical Center: C
Olathe Medical Center: C
Overland Park Regional Medical Center: C
Saint Luke’s East Hospital: C
Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City: C
Saint Luke’s North Hospital: C
St. Joseph Medical Center: C
Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill: C
University of Kansas Hospital: C

 DAN MARGOLIES is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A company that grew out of research conducted at the University of Missouri is manufacturing its first product.

Nanova Biomaterials Inc. began manufacturing a fluoride dental varnish called StarBright about a month ago at its northeast Columbia facility.

The company says the product has received Food and Drug Administration clearance. The company had a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday at its $1.5 million plant in Columbia.

Hao Li, Nanova co-founder and Missouri associate professor, said the company hopes to have the dental varnish on the market in December.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Nanova was in founded in 2007 and Nanova Biomaterials was created in 2013. It uses nanotechnology to produce particles with new properties. For example, the dental varnish contains more fluoride than other products on the market.

WASHINGTON – Following false reports from the outlet “The Root” that the U.S. Department of Justice was urged to cease its independent investigation in Ferguson, Mo., the Justice Department issued the following statement dispelling such rumors:

“This report is inaccurate. The Justice Department has consistently said it will not conclude our investigation until it is complete, and the senator has not attempted to urge anything different.” – Dena Iverson, Justice Department spokeswoman

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill issued the following statement:

“Ludicrous rumors like this are dangerous, and only serve to distract from the important work that needs to be happening in Ferguson.”

CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press
JULIE WATSON, Associated Press

WESTON, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. Marine veteran is back home in Florida after a Mexican judge ordered his release from jail, where he spent eight months for crossing the border with loaded guns.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nestle Purina PetCare is offering a service allowing dog owners to customize food for their pets.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch  reports that the new Just Right by Purina service allows customers to formulate dog food based on specific characteristics of their dog — age, breed and activity level. St. Louis-based Purina is a unit of Switzerland-based Nestle.
Purina makes the Beneful, Apo and Dog Chow brands. It says it is the first major pet food maker to produce a personalized dog food in the U.S.

Purina began sales in March as a testing phase. The product launched nationwide Oct. 28.
“So far people have responded well to it,” said Brian Lester, director of marketing for Just Right by Purina. “As you look at the many other categories that consumers are in, there are more and more customized features that are being offered every day.”

Customers log in at JustRightPetFood.com and enter information that begins with the dog’s name. Users are asked protein preference with options that include chicken, salmon and lamb.

Pet owners are asked if their dog has dry skin, whether its coat is shiny, and whether the dog is over- or underweight. In fact, a photo of the dog can be put on the personalized bag if the owner chooses.
It doesn’t come cheap — the price is higher than Purina’s standard dog food. A 6-pound bag is $24.99; a 12-pound bag is $37.99.
Lester said Purina is deciding whether to make a similar offering for cats.

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Independent candidate for U.S. Senate Greg Orman says a Republican accusation that he called former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole a “clown” is a distortion of his words.

Orman is in a tight race with three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who was traveling Friday with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Dole.

Asked about a potential Republican organizational edge in the tight Senate race, Orman said Friday: “It sort of seems like a Washington establishment clown car to me. Every day a new person comes out of that car.”

Roberts’ campaign released a statement calling Orman’s comment “personal attacks and disdain for Senator Dole.”

Orman says he is “outraged” and calls Roberts’ claim “distorting my words.” Orman said Saturday that Dole is “a great example of bipartisanship.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three bodies and the cockpit voice recorder have been removed from a Wichita flight training facility that was hit by a small plane this week.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said the bodies of the people trapped inside a simulation in the building were pulled from the rubble late Friday evening.

Crisp said the body of pilot Mark Goldstein will probably not be removed from the roof of the building until Saturday.

A twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 200 crashed into the Flight Safety International Learning Center at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport shortly after takeoff Thursday. Four people died, and five were injured.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson also said the cockpit voice recorder was removed earlier Friday evening.