UC San Diego Awarded 2014 Leapfrog Top Hospital Distinction for Safety and Quality

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For the second time, The Leapfrog Group has named UC San Diego Health System to its annual list of Top Hospitals. Awarded to hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is an elite distinction given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. The awards were announced on December 2, in Washington, D.C.

“The Top Hospital status given to UC San Diego Health System by the Leapfrog Group recognizes the extraordinary devotion of our employees to deliver exceptional medical and surgical care in a safe environment,” said Paul Viviano, CEO, UC San Diego Health System. “Our initiatives to prevent medication errors and to clearly communicate processes of care and outcome standards have contributed to this recognition.”

“Leapfrog’s Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most prestigious distinctions any hospital can achieve in the United States. It recognizes institutions for their excellence in quality of care and patient safety, as well as their commitment to transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “UC San Diego Health System has proven it is a premier institution and deserves to be recognized for its dedication to the families and patients.”

UC San Diego Health System was one of 94 Top Hospitals recognized nationally. Among the hospitals reaching this achievement are academic medical centers, teaching hospitals and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings.

The list includes:

• 60 Top Urban Hospitals
• 25 Top Rural Hospitals
• Nine Top Children’s Hospitals

The selection is based on the results of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use and management structures established to prevent errors. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including rates for high-risk procedures and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors.

The Top Hospital award is not given to a set number of hospitals, but rather, to all urban, rural and children's hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year's Top Hospitals Methodology. To see the full list of institutions honored as a 2014 Top Hospital, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

Both UC San Diego Health System hospitals – UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Thornton Hospital and Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center in La Jolla – were also given A Hospital Safety Score grades by the Leapfrog Group in November and April of this year. The A grades for UC San Diego Health System are based on the ability to prevent errors, injuries and infections. The scores place UC San Diego Health System among the safest hospitals in the United States.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization using 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 flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members. The Hospital Safety Score is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group.