Norwood Hospital Honored by Leapfrog for Second Year

Monday, November 29, 2010

( Washington , DC) – Norwood Hospital has been named to The Leapfrog Group’s 2010 Top Hospital List. Norwood is one of only 53 “urban” hospitals nationwide to be named to the list, with just 5 from New England, including Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, also of Steward Health Care. 

The Leapfrog Group consists of many of the nation’s largest corporations and other purchasers of health benefits, working to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare. Across the country, 1,184 hospitals completed the 2010 Leapfrog Hospital Survey on which the top hospital selection is based. The survey is the only national, public comparison of hospitals on key issues, including mortality rates for certain common procedures, infection rates, safety practices and measures of efficiency.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized two years in a row by the prestigious Leapfrog Group for being a top hospital for quality care,” said Margaret Hanson, Norwood Hospital president. “I want to credit our physicians and staff for their hard work on behalf of our patients and community,” she said.

In 2010, Top Hospitals in urban settings fulfill the following criteria:

• Fully meet Leapfrog standards for computer physician order entry (CPOE)
• Fully meet stringent performance standards for complex, high-risk procedures done electively;
• Fully meet Leapfrog’s Intensive Care Unit staffing standard;
• Score in the top decile for efficiency standards calculated through Leapfrog’s Hospital Recognition Program

In addition to being named a Top Hospital by the Leapfrog Group in 2009, Norwood Hospital received these recent recognitions for quality: 2010 Hospital Value Index™: Best in Value Award™ and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Stage 6 designation.

Norwood Hospital

The 264-bed Norwood Hospital provides emergency, cardiology, advanced surgical, endoscopic, psychiatric, OB/GYN and Children’s Hospital Boston pediatric services and is a member of Steward Health Care, the largest fully integrated community care organization in New England. Information about Norwood Hospital’s programs and services is available at www.norwood-hospital.org.

The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) uses the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 by the Business Roundtable and is supported by its members, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and other sources.

The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the gold standard for comparing hospitals’ performance on the national standards of safety, quality and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care.  Hospitals that participate in The Leapfrog Hospital Survey achieve hospital-wide improvements that translate into millions of lives and dollars saved. Leapfrog’s purchaser members use Survey results to inform their employees and purchasing strategies.