Five New Jersey hospitals have been named to the annual Top Hospitals list by the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring the leverage of large purchasers of health care to the table in order to advance the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare in the U.S.The five New Jersey hospitals are:
- Children’s Specialized Hospital, New Brunswick;
- Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood;
- Hoboken University Medical Center, Hoboken;
- Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston;
- Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Voorhees.
The award is based on the results of the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey which will be announced Tuesday at Leapfrog’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
“We’re thrilled to see so many top performing hospitals in New Jersey,” said Linda Schwimmer, vice president of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a Leapfrog partner organization in New
Jersey. The 2014 Top Hospital award was achieved by about 7 percent of the more than 1,200 eligible hospitals nationwide.
“We were impressed by the diversity of hospitals achieving the designation,” said Schwimmer, who serves on the Leapfrog board. “A children’s hospital, several hospitals belonging to larger systems, and a local community hospital all achieved the designation — proving that no matter your size or system structure, it is possible to deliver the highest quality of care.”
“Top Hospitals represent an elite group of hospitals in which exemplary care can be expected,” said Leah Binder, chief executive and president of Leapfrog. She said out of the record number of U.S. hospitals participating in Leapfrog’s annual survey this year, 94 earned the Top Hospital distinction: 25 rural, 60 urban and nine children’s hospitals.
Schwimmer said the Leapfrog Top Hospital designation and the Leapfrog Safety Score “are great tools for consumers to use when planning their next hospital stay.” She said consumers also should check their own health insurance plan to verify whether particular providers and facilities are in their plan’s network before proceeding with treatment.
The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute is an independent, nonpartisan organization that offers expert analysis based on health care data to drive policy change to achieve best health outcomes for consumers.
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