News

California Pacific Medical Center Named One of the Top U.S. Hospitals

CPMC Honored by Leapfrog Group Survey Three Years in a Row

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., September 24, 2008 - California Pacific Medical Center has been named one of the Leapfrog Group’s Top Hospitals for 2008. This is the third year in a row CPMC has been honored by the Leapfrog Group survey, which is considered the nation’s premier hospital patient safety evaluation tool.

“This is a tremendous honor,” says Martin Brotman, M.D., President and CEO of California Pacific. “It’s a testimony to the commitment of every person in the hospital to put patient safety first. The fact that we have won this award three years in a row shows that this is something we focus on every single day, and that we are always looking for ways to improve.”

CPMC is one of twenty-six adult hospitals, and seven children’s hospitals, named on the list. It is one of just five hospitals nationwide to be honored three years in succession.

The voluntary survey measures hospitals performance in four crucial areas:

Do physicians enter prescriptions and other orders into computers linked to medication error prevention software? Are those systems tested to assure that users are warned about serious prescribing errors?

How well do hospitals perform seven complex high-risk procedures (coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneous coronary intervention, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve replacement, pancreatic resection, esophagectomy, bariatric surgery) and how well do they care for high-risk deliveries?

Are hospital intensive care units (ICUs) staffed by qualified specialists?

Do hospitals have safety practices and policies advocated by the National Quality Forum to reduce harm and errors.

A study published in the June 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.

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More about California Pacific Medical Center
At San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center, we believe in the power of medicine. We research the most up-to-date treatments, hire the most qualified individuals, and practice the most modern, innovative medicine available. We deliver the highest quality expert care, with kindness and compassion, in acute, post-acute and outpatient services, as well as preventive and complementary medicine. But we also believe that medicine alone is only part of the solution. That’s why we look intently at each individual case and treat the whole person, not just the illness. It’s why we go beyond medical care and provide our patients with things like disease counseling, family support and wellness treatments. As one of California’s largest private, community-based, not-for-profit, teaching medical centers, and a Sutter Health affiliate, we are able to reach deep into our community to provide education, screening and financial support in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods. Because medicine can transform a body. But going beyond medicine can transform a life. www.cpmc.org

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California Pacific Medical Center Contact

Kevin McCormack
(415) 600-7484 direct
(415) 232-6463 pager
McCormKD@sutterhealth.org