Seven Illinois Hospitals Named 2013 Leapfrog Top Hospitals for
Providing Outstanding Patient Safety and Quality Care
Illinois improves to 4th in nation for top rankings
CHICAGO – Out of 1,324 hospitals participating nationwide in The Leapfrog Group’s Patient Safety Survey, seven hospitals in Illinois ,with four in Chicagoland – North Shore University Health System’s Evanston and Glenbrook Hospitals, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, and Swedish Covenant Hospital, were named to the Leapfrog Group’s 2013 list of “Top Hospitals “,. The Leapfrog Group’s efforts are led in Illinois by the non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), one of the nation's leading business groups of employers. MBGH mobilizes purchasers of health care to garner hospital participation in the national survey.
OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois and two Top Rural Hospitals were also named this year – OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center, Pontiac, Illinois and Wabash General Hospital Mt. Carmel, Illinois.
“We congratulate the administrations, medical and clinical staffs, and boards of the Illinois facilities that received a Top Hospital Award this year,” said Larry Boress, MBGH president and CEO. “To achieve this award takes commitment, resources and a culture that strives to make patient safety a high priority for all staff. MBGH recognizes there are many high quality Illinois hospitals that are also dedicated to safety, but not all can achieve the top grades each year. As purchasers of health care for over 4 million workers and their families, our employers encourage all Illinois hospitals to continue their efforts and to be transparent and report their progress in meeting patient safety measures to the public Leapfrog website.”
Ninety hospitals across the country earned the Top Hospital Distinction: 22 Top Rural Hospitals, 55 Top Urban Hospitals and 13 Top Children’s Hospitals. Hospitals reaching this achievement include academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals, and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings. The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: the patient experience, use of resources and quality management processes in place that prevent errors and ensure safety. The results of the survey are posted on the Leapfrog website (http://www.leapfroggroup.org/cp) and are open to patients and families, the public, employers and other purchasers of health care.
“The field of hospitals’ considered for this year’s elite Leapfrog Top Hospital distinction was more competitive than ever,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “To achieve this accolade, these organizations have demonstrated exemplary performance across all areas of quality and patient safety that are analyzed on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. If my family or friends needed care, I’d be comfortable sending them to these distinguished hospitals.”
About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group is a national organization using 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 flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members. www.leapfroggroup.org
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
With more than 100 member organizations, the Midwest Business Group on Health is one of the nation’s leading non-profit business groups of large, self-insured public and private employers. MBGH is an essential resource to support employers in effectively managing their health benefits through high-quality education, research, networking and benchmarking, as well as serving as catalyst for community initiatives to improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of the health care delivery system. MBGH is a founding member of the National Business Coalition on Health. www.mbgh.org