Five Chicagoland Hospitals Receive National Recognition for Providing Outstanding
Patient Safety and Quality Care
Cary Conway, MBGH Media Contact
CHICAGO – The Leapfrog Group announced its annual class of top hospitals today which includes five hospitals in the Chicago metropolitan area. Children's Memorial Hospital, North Shore University Health System’s Evanston and Glenbrook Hospitals, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center were recognized by the
Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), one of the nation's leading business groups of employers and a Leapfrog Regional Roll-out Leader. In Illinois, MBGH mobilizes local employers and purchasers of health care to garner hospital participation in the national survey.
“It gives us great satisfaction to see the broad commitment Illinois hospitals have given to patient safety,” said Larry Boress, MBGH president and CEO. “This is especially true for these facilities achieving the Top Hospital status, whose medical and administrative leadership have dedicated their resources and cultures to ensure patients can be confident that the care their receive is of high quality, and provided in a manner to ensure their safety and improved health.”
The 2011 list includes university and other 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 national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality. The results are posted on a website open to the patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care. The website is www.leapfroggroup.org.
The nearly 1,200 hospitals that publicly report their performance via the Leapfrog Hospital Survey do so voluntarily. “In a way, that makes all of them top hospitals,” said Leah Binder, Leapfrog’s CEO. “It represents an enormous commitment by the institution to not only measure what they do against tough standards, but also to work for change and be transparent about it. And it’s a signal to employers and other health care purchasers in their community that these hospitals care.”
While numerous agencies and organizations collect and post hospital quality data, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, now in its eleventh year, is the most complete picture available of a hospital’s quality and safety. The survey focuses on three critical areas of hospital care: (1) how patients fare, (2) resources used to care for patients, and (3) management practices that promote safety and quality. In each of the three areas, Leapfrog asks hospitals to report on nationally standardized measures so health care consumers can compare hospitals in their community and across the country.
For a complete list of 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org.
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) 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.
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.
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
Celebrating more than 30 years of advancing value in health care and health benefits management, 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 more than 100 members represent over 3 million lives, spending more than $3 billion on health care benefits annually. MBGH member benefits include educational workshops for health benefits management, networking opportunities, research, demonstration projects and community initiatives. MBGH is a founding member of the National Business Coalition on Health.