The Leapfrog Group announced the recipients of its 2019 Top Hospital awards on Tuesday, with seven being in New Jersey, in recognition of the nation’s highest quality hospitals as identified in its fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grades survey.
Of the 2,100 hospitals considered for the award, less than 6% (or a total of 120) of all eligible facilities received the designation. This year Florida, California, Michigan and Virginia had the highest number of Top Hospitals, with nine or more in each of those states.
“Leapfrog is honored to spotlight the hospitals across the nation that have truly gone above and beyond in their pursuit of excellence. Our Top Hospital award, one of the most prestigious in the U.S., recognizes hospitals for ensuring their facilities prioritize safety and quality in patient care,” Leah Binder, CEO and president of The Leapfrog Group. “The standards achieved by Top Hospitals reflect the high expectations set by Leapfrog and its expert panels, which starts with a commitment to transparency. We also commend all hospitals that demonstrated this commitment by participating in the 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.”
Top performance in a variety hospital care areas were considered to establish the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, maternity care, using technology to prevent medication errors, implementing surgical volume standards for safety, among others.
Of the 120 Top Hospitals, 10 were Top Children’s Hospitals, 37 Top General Hospitals, 55 Top Teaching Hospitals and 18 Top Rural Hospitals.
The New Jersey-based hospitals that received awards include:
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Riverview Medical Center (Top General Hospital);
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Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton (Top General Hospital);
“We are proud to be honored with the distinction of Top General Hospital,” Richard Freeman, CEO and president, RWJUH Hamilton, said. “RWJUH Hamilton has a strong commitment to patient safety and quality and the recognition from the Leapfrog Group demonstrates our entire staff’s extraordinary dedication to our patients and our community to consistently deliver the highest level of care.”
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Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (Top Teaching Hospital);
“We are pleased to recognize Englewood Hospital as a 2019 Leapfrog Top Hospital,” Leah Binder, CEO and president of The Leapfrog Group. “This demonstrates extraordinary dedication to patients and to the northern New Jersey community. We congratulate the board, staff, and clinicians whose efforts made this honor possible and know they share pride in this achievement.”
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Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital (Top Teaching Hospital);
“This Top Hospital Award is a tremendous achievement for the entire staff of our Cherry Hill Hospital,” Jefferson New Jersey President Joseph W. Devine said. “This recognition points to our singular focus on patient safety and quality.”
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Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Top Teaching Hospital);
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Ocean Medical Center (Top Teaching Hospital);
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Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Top Teaching Hospital).
“Saint Barnabas Medical Center remains devoted to serving as a leader that promotes transparency and the sharing of best practices to continually improve patient safety and the quality of health care services delivered by our system’s hospitals.” Stephen P. Zieniewicz, CEO and president, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, said. “We’re honored to be named a Top Teaching Hospital and I congratulate our dedicated physicians, nurses, and the entire staff.”
To see the full list of hospitals and methodology, click here. Winners will be officially recognized at Leapfrog’s Annual Award Dinner and Ceremony on Dec. 17 in Washington, D.C.
