CHOMP leaders have more work to do after seeing a national safety rating grade drop.

The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is touted as “the nation’s gold standard” in evaluating hospitals and surgery centers, using grades, much like in school. An “A” means a hospital is meeting safety standards and preventing harm to patients, an “F” indicates failure. In Monterey County, the three largest hospitals have routinely received As and Bs, until recently, when Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula saw its score drop to a C.

CHOMP received As in 2021 and 2022, then Bs between the spring of 2023 and spring 2025. (Scores are released in spring and fall.) Salinas Valley Health and Natividad, both in Salinas, have consistently been scoring As over the past several years.

The Peninsula hospital’s overall score this fall was 110.77 out of a possible 120 points. The average hospital score is 117.60.

According to the report card, CHOMP performed “worse than average” on surgery-related issues and “effective leadership to prevent errors.” It rated better than average on nursing care and handling of medicines.

Leaders of CHOMP’s parent company, Montage Health, characterized the drop as a failure in documentation and data submitted to Leapfrog as far back as 2021.

“It does not reflect the safety or quality of the care that we provided to our patients,” said Mindy Maschmeyer, director of communications for Montage Health. “We have actively addressed the issues identified through enhanced processes, re-submitted documentation, and additional training.

“We fully expect to see this score improve in spring when our efforts will be captured in the next report.”

Earlier this year, Montage officials confirmed that the California Department of Public Health was investigating two isolated “surgical safety incidents” that took place since 2024. Montage officials said they were taking corrective action across the entire hospital system to prevent future problems and meet and exceed state regulations.