Three Chicagoland Hospitals Named 2009 Top Hospitals for High Quality, Efficient Care
CHICAGO – December 3, 2009 – While Congress debates whether health care reform would control health care costs, three Chicago-area hospitals – Highland Park Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center – were honored today in Washington, D.C. as 2009 Top Hospitals. These providers were selected among 34 urban, eight children’s and three rural hospitals from 1,206 surveyed nationally.
While Congress debates whether health care reform would control health care costs, three Chicago-area hospitals – Highland Park Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center – were honored today in Washington, D.C. as 2009 Top Hospitals. These providers were selected among 34 urban, eight children’s and three rural hospitals from 1,206 surveyed nationally.
“This is great recognition for area hospitals that have committed their resources and staffs to reduce unnecessary medical and medication errors,” said Larry Boress, president and CEO of the non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) which represents over 100 large, self-funded employers. “Given that we have almost 200 hospitals throughout Illinois, we still have a long way to go to improve the variations in quality and costs.” MBGH serves as the Illinois Regional Roll-Out leader for The Leapfrog Group.
The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is conducted by The Leapfrog Group, a Washington-based, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote patient safety and the public reporting of individual hospital quality and safety performance. The award is based on a hospital’s progress in meeting The Leapfrog Group’s patient safety measures contained in its online Hospital Survey. Results for all reporting Illinois hospitals on the 2009 Leapfrog Hospital Survey are available to the public at www.leapfroggroup.org.
2009 Top Hospitals in urban settings fulfill the following criteria:
- Fully meet performance standards for at least half of the complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital
- Fully meet the Intensive Care Unit staffing standard
- Score in the top decile for value (or efficiency) – this measure is calculated by adding a hospital’s scores for quality and resource use, with quality given more weight, in caring for heart bypass surgery, heart angioplasty, heart attack and pneumonia patients.
“Efficiency in the use of resources will be key to our nation’s ability to reduce waste and overuse in our health care system,” Boress said. “Cost trends will never go down without concerted efforts by health care providers to ensure that the care they deliver is appropriate and necessary.”
Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group noted, “This year’s class of Top Hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication ordering systems and ICU staffing, but they also use resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients.” The Leapfrog Group measure for efficiency is based on how long patients stayed in the hospital and whether he/she was readmitted for a particular episode of care, and is adjusted for risk.
This year’s top urban hospitals are located in 13 states: Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. A study published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal on Quality and Patient Safety found that hospitals that perform well on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey have lower mortality and better quality of care than those who either didn’t perform as well on the survey or who chose not to complete the survey. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the gold standard for comparing hospitals’ performance on the national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care. Hospitals that participate in The Leapfrog Hospital Survey achieve hospital-wide improvements that translate into millions of lives and dollars saved. Leapfrog’s purchaser members use Survey results to inform their employees and purchasing strategies.
The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group uses the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 by the Business Roundtable, and is now independently operated with support from its members. www.leapfroggroup.org
Midwest Business Group on Health
The non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) is one of the nation's leading business groups of private and public employers. MBGH's 102 members represent over 2 million lives, spending more than $2.5 billion on health care benefits on an annual basis. MBGH offers employers a variety of health benefit educational seminars, networking opportunities, quality and community initiatives. MBGH is a member of the National Business Coalition on Health. www.mbgh.org