Vanderbilt lands on top hospitals list
Vanderbilt University Hospital has again been named among the nation's top hospitals for quality and safety by the Leapfrog Group, a consortium of large companies and public employers that together provide health benefits to more than 37 million consumers spread among all 50 states.
Leapfrog's Top Hospitals list — an unranked, alphabetical listing of 41 hospitals — is based on results of a 2007 quality and safety survey including nearly 1,300 of the nation's approximately 3,900 Medicare-approved acute care hospitals. Conducted annually since 2002, the survey targets regions where Leapfrog's member companies have large concentrations of employees.
The survey's 41 highlighted hospitals fully meet Leapfrog's standard for physician staffing of intensive care units, score highly on a diverse checklist of safe practices, and do more of certain high-risk procedures, where better outcomes are known to be linked with sheer repetition. Hospitals are also helped onto the Top Hospitals list by using electronic physician order entry, technology in which Vanderbilt has long been a world leader.
“This continues to be a critical time in health care, and safety and quality top everyone's agenda,” said Harry Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs.
“I'm very pleased that we've again received this recognition through Leapfrog, where the criteria for judging safety and quality have again been updated and sharpened with this current survey. All of us at VUMC can take encouragement from this recognition, so this is a good opportunity to say: Let's continue our efforts, let's lead the way until our nation's health care system is as safe as it should be and every patient receives the best possible quality of care.”
“This recognition follows from the hard work and dedication of clinical staff and faculty at every level of our organization who make safety and quality their highest concern,” said Martin Sandler, M.B., Ch.B., associate vice chancellor for Hospital Affairs.
“This recognition from Leapfrog is greatly welcomed,” said C. Wright Pinson, M.D., associate vice chancellor for Clinical Affairs and chief medical officer.
“I join the entire leadership team in pride and gratitude for the efforts of all those at VUMC who are helping to improve care here, especially those who worked on this from the Quality Council, Drew Gaffney as our chief quality and safety officer, and Bobbie Dietz, associate director of patient safety, who handled the Leapfrog survey for VUH.
“This recognition goes to front line staff and to the many experts working on quality and safety all across the hospital. Thank you all,” said Larry Goldberg, CEO of VUH.
Nashville's Saint Thomas Hospital was the only other Tennessee hospital to make the list.