Mills-Peninsula Named One of the Nation’s Top Hospitals by Leapfrog Group
This year’s prestigious Top Hospitals list names 65 hospitals from a field of 1,200
BURLINGAME, Calif. (Dec. 1, 2010) - The Leapfrog Group today named Mills-Peninsula Health Services in Burlingame to its annual class of top hospitals – 65 from a field of nearly 1,200. The announcement was made today in Washington, D.C., at Leapfrog’s 10th anniversary meeting.
The 2010 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 patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care. It is the most complete picture available of a hospital’s quality and safety. The website is www.leapfroggroup.org.
“We are honored to receive this recognition of Mills-Peninsula’s quality and patient safety,” said Bob Merwin, Mills-Peninsula CEO.
“This good news comes during an especially challenging time for health care, when cost and quality and safety are topics of national concern. The Leapfrog award validates that our doctors, nurses and staff are providing the best medical care for our community today. Even more important, it fuels our motivation to continue the legacy in our new hospital when it opens in Burlingame early next year.”
The 1200 hospitals that publicly report their performance via the Leapfrog Survey do so voluntarily. “In a way, that makes all of them top hospitals,” said Leapfrog Chief Executive Leah Binder. “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.”
“Earning the top hospital designation is a testament to the work of everyone in the hospital – the governing body, management, physicians, caregivers, employees, and volunteers,” said Binder.
The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. Initially organized by the Business Roundtable, it is now an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind. Leapfrog officials say they plan to expand their efforts in the months ahead to work with consumer groups.
The survey, which launched in 2001, focuses on four critical areas of patient safety: the use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors; standards for doing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery; protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum; and adequate nurse and physician staffing. In addition, hospitals are measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors, among other things.
The complete list of 2010 Leapfrog Top Hospitals will be available at www.leapfroggroup.org on Dec. 1, 2010 at 9 a.m. PT, or an advance copy can be obtained by contacting Missy Danforth at mdanforth@leapfroggroup.org or 202-222-8344.
About Mills-Peninsula Health Services
Mills-Peninsula, a member of the not-for-profit Sutter Health organization, has provided excellent quality medical care to the San Mateo County community for more than 100 years. The organization operates two community health facilities with a total of 340 inpatient beds. Peninsula Medical Center, in Burlingame, CA, is an acute-care facility offering inpatient services such as orthopedics, cardiovascular surgery, a family birth center and emergency services. Mills Health Center, in San Mateo, CA, offers outpatient services including surgery, a cancer center, women's health services and diagnostics. In February 2011, the state-of-the-art Mills-Peninsula Medical Center will open its doors to the community.
For more information about Mills-Peninsula, please visit:
www.mills-peninsula.org | www.facebook.com/millspeninsula | www.twitter.com/millspeninsula | www.millspeninsulanews.org
Contact
Cathleen Moore
650-934-6958
moorec4@sutterhealth.org