The Washington hospital where Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise was taken for his gunshot wounds last month has scored extremely low in safety ratings, including for infections which the House majority whip is now being treated for.

Medstar Washington Hospital Center scored a D in hospital safety ratings by Leapfrog Group and just two out of five stars in the ratings done by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website.

Scalise underwent several surgeries last month after he was shot — along with two Capitol Police officers, a congressional aide and a lobbyist — during Republican members' practice for a congressional baseball game. The gunman, James Hodgkinson, targeted the Republicans and was killed by the officers.

The bullet damaged Scalise's bone, blood vessels and internal organs. Physician Jack Sava, the hospital's director of trauma care, warned after the surgeries that there were still significant potential risks, including infection and other complications.

Scalise's condition steadily improved from critical to serious to fair, but on Wednesday, hospital officials said he was moved back to the intensive care unit. He had another surgery Thursday for the management of infection and is back in serious condition.

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At Washington Hospital Center, "infections are a pattern and a serious one," says Leapfrog Group CEO Leah Binder. "They are significantly below the national average in four out of five areas that we have data, which suggests an inability to prevent infections."

Binder says that's particularly troubling for a place that is the "go-to hospital" for members of Congress and federal officials.

Scalise was brought to the hospital by a U.S. Park Police helicopter and didn't go to other closer — and far better rated — area hospitals including MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki would not comment on why the hospital was chosen as an investigation of the shooting is pending, and "we do not discuss how we carry out our protective responsibilities for Congress."

There's "no official designation of our hospital related to the care of Congressmen or federal officials," Washington Hospital Center spokeswoman So Young Pak said in an email. But she noted it is a Level I Trauma Center — which means it is best equipped for the most serious injuries — and is designated as an adult burn center for the region.

The Georgetown hospital doesn't have a trauma center, but does have a helipad, and there are many other hospitals in the area that regularly treat gunshot victims and have helipads.

Peter Pronovost, a Johns Hopkins Medicine critical care physician who regularly treats gunshot victims in Baltimore, says with complex cases, some infections are "truly unavoidable."

"It's not just getting the complication; it’s how quickly the hospital identifies and treats it." says Pronovost, who is leading a federally funded program to reduce complications after surgery in 700 hospitals. "A hospital that does well on infectious complications may have structured processes and a culture in place for elective surgical cases."

Asked about their poor ratings, Pak cited a study in the journal Health Affairs but misstated the study's conclusion as being that health care is "too complex to boil down to a simple grading system."

In fact, the study acknowledged that while some of the differences in hospital rating systems may be beneficial, it would be even better if the ratings organizations could agree on standards to report on their own ratings.

Matt Austin, who was lead author on the study, says his "hope is all hospitals use these ratings as an opportunity to reflect and identify the changes needed to make care safer for all patients."

Leapfrog uses data from CMS, the American Hospital Association and its own surveys that it sends to hospitals. Washington Hospital Center declines to respond to Leapfrog's surveys.

Because Washington Hospital Center accepts Medicare, however, CMS has their data on issues known as "never events" because they are so serious and preventable they should never occur. On that, which includes "dangerous objects" such as surgical equipment left inside patients, Washington Hospital Center scored well below average for nearly all measures.

"We do not participate in all of the hospital ratings programs, in part because of problems with methodology and the accuracy of the safety scores," said Washington Hospital Center spokeswoman Donna Arbogast. "However, we do voluntarily participate in those programs that effectively assess quality and safety."

She noted that "we consistently earn outstanding ratings from such organizations as the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Cardiology."

Unlike hospitals that cooperate with Leapfrog, however, patients or insurers are out of luck if they are looking for information on the most basic things such as hand-washing protocols.

"We are a recognized leader in embracing transparency, and we continuously use our outcomes data to learn, improve and optimize the care we provide to 40,000 inpatients every year," said Pak.

The hospital has actually gotten worse in Leapfrog's ratings, dropping from an overall C in 2014 and 2015 to a D in 2016.

Patrick Regan, a Washington attorney who has had post surgical infection cases from Washington Hospital Center, says the hospital's helipad was designed so there's easy access on a gurney to the shock trauma center. At the B-rated Medstar hospital in Georgetown, the helipad is more of a distance to the hospital and requires an ambulance.

He also suspects security plays a role in where government officials are taken.

"Unfortunately, the security of the elected official may outweigh the safety of the facility they are taken to," says Regan. "It sounds like nothing’s going to serve as a wake up call the way it's consistently ranked."

Arbogast says that while she doesn't know about the security at other hospitals, "We have the security needed to keep our patients, visitors and staff safe at all times."

Contributing: Deborah Berry