A nonprofit health care watchdog group puts Maine at the top of its state rankings for hospital safety.

Sixteen of 20 Maine hospitals earned A grades from Leapfrog. Leapfrog says the grades are meant to show how safe hospitals are for patients.

Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Lewiston, and Franklin Memorial Hospital, Farmington, got A grades.

The other hospital grades were:

• Cary Medical Center, Caribou, A 
• Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, A
• Henriette G. Goodall Hospital, Sanford. A
• Inland Hospital, Waterville, A
• Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth, A
• MaineGeneral Medical Center Thayer Campus, Waterville, C
• MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta, C
• Maine Medical Center, Portland, B
• Mercy Hospital, Portland, A
• Mid Coast Hospital, Brunswick, A
• Miles Memorial Hospital, Damariscotta, A
• Parkview Adventist Medical Center, Brunswick, A
• Pen Bay Medical Center, Rockport, A
• St. Joseph Hospital, Bangor, C
• St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Lewiston, A
• The Aroostook Medical Center, Presque Isle, A
• York Hospital, York, A

The top five states and the percentage of hospitals earning A grades are:

1. Maine (80 percent)
2. Massachusetts (76 percent)
3. South Dakota (67 percent)
4. Illinois (53 percent)
5. Virginia (48 percent)

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