MemorialCare Health System Hospitals Again Honored as Safest in U.S.

Miller Children's Listed Among Top 9 Children's Hospitals Nationally: One of Only Two Children's Hospitals in California to Achieve This Recognition

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MemorialCare Health System

Dec 10, 2014, 03:45 ET

ORANGE and LOS ANGELES Counties, Calif., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System hospitals—including Long Beach Memorial, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente—were once again honored with an "A" Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group. The Hospital Safety Score is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit led by employers and large purchasers of health benefits to initiative breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for all Americans.

The Leapfrog Group's Blue Ribbon Expert Panel uses several measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a Hospital Safety Score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. Hospitals across the U.S. were assigned a score of A, B, C, D or F based on these measures.

In addition, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach for the third time was selected as one of only nine children's hospitals in the United States to appear on The Leapfrog Group's annual list of the nation's Top Hospitals, a distinction achieved by just two children's hospitals in California.

An elite distinction awarded to hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. The awards, which are presented annually, were announced at Leapfrog's Annual Meeting and Top Hospital Awards this week in Washington, D.C.

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.

Acknowledged national leader in patient safety and quality, MemorialCare is recognized as an innovator in health care delivery.

"Our more than 13,000 physicians, nurses, clinical and support staff are dedicated to implementing evidence-based, best-practice medicine at all our medical centers, physicians' offices and outpatient health care facilities to ensure the communities we serve receive comprehensive, high quality care," says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., MemorialCare Health System president & CEO. "We are honored to be included among the nation's safest hospitals and are thrilled that Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach has achieved the distinction of being one of the nine best children's hospitals in the United States."

According to Leah Binder, The Leapfrog Group president & CEO, "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. By achieving Top Hospital status, Miller Children's has proven it's a premier institution and deserves to be recognized for its dedication to the families and patients."

This recognition is among an impressive number of global, national and statewide honors awarded to MemorialCare Health System. MemorialCare was selected one of only 35 businesses worldwide with the Gallup Great Workplace Award. MemorialCare is acknowledged as among some of California's best hospitals and named "high performing" by U.S. News & World Report, including being recognized on America's Best Hospital national list.

MemorialCare Health System, a nonprofit Southern California integrated delivery system and pioneer in evidence-based medicine, has 200 care sites; 11,500 employees; 2,600 affiliated physicians; six top hospitals—Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; MemorialCare Medical Group; Greater Newport Physicians (GNP); Seaside Health Plan; ambulatory surgery centers; and imaging, outpatient and urgent care facilities. To learn more, go to memorialcare.org.

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SOURCE MemorialCare Health System