Leapfrog Releases Annual List Of Top Hospitals
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Leaders are chosen for safety, surgical outcomes, maternity care, and leadership.
The nonprofit hospital watchdog organization Leapfrog Group recognized 115 leading hospitals, including nine as Top Children’s Hospitals, 56 as Top General Hospitals, 29 as Top Teaching Hospitals, and 21 as Top Rural Hospitals. To qualify for the top award, hospitals must have “better systems in place to prevent medication errors, higher quality on maternity care and high-risk procedures, and lower readmission rates.”
“It takes leadership, teamwork, and absolute dedication to patients to achieve this award,” explained Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog. “Hospitals that receive the top-hospital distinction have demonstrated excellence at providing safe and high-quality care. We recognize that staff throughout the entire hospital share this commitment and congratulate every person who contributed to their hospital’s success.”
Hospitals eligible to receive a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade must have received an A in the most recent round of scoring to be eligible. Research released by Leapfrog last spring noted hospitals that earned a D or F grade had a nearly 50 percent higher risk of avoidable death than those with higher marks, as Health IT Outcomes reported.
Among this year’s leaders are hospitals in California (25), New Jersey (7), Michigan (5), Texas (5), and Virginia (5). Eight states and the District of Columbia only have one hospital receiving the award.
“Today, more than ever, public and private health-care benefits purchasers are looking at the quality, cost and outcomes of hospitals and physicians as they move to value-based benefit approaches,” Larry Boress, Illinois Leapfrog leader and president and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health told Olney Daily Mail. “Such strategies often incorporate small networks of high quality hospitals, with employees incentivized to select these providers. Increasingly, employers are looking to the Leapfrog Group and its top hospitals to identify high- performing facilities.”
Safety, surgical outcomes, maternity care, and leadership are among the performance areas assessed with data gathered from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey to determine which hospitals qualify. Leapfrog does not make a set number of awards, but rather names all urban, rural, and children’s hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year’s Top Hospitals Methodology.
“We set the toughest standards in the industry, so hospitals that excel at Leapfrog deserve the finest recognition we can give them,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
To see the methodology and the full list of honorees in 2016, please click here.