Nine Kaiser Permanente Southern California Hospitals Named ‘Top Hospitals’ in the Nation for Quality and Safety by the Leapfrog Group

Nine Kaiser Permanente Southern California Hospitals Named ‘Top Hospitals’ in the Nation for Quality and Safety by the Leapfrog Group

<0> Kaiser PermanenteSouthern California RegionSocorro SerranoOffice: 626-405-3004Mobile: 323-627-5595 </0>

Nine Southern California hospitals have been named 2013 “Top Hospitals” by , an independent advocacy group of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage. The Leapfrog survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind and focuses on how patients fare, resources used to care for patients, and management practices that promote safety and quality.

Kaiser Permanente’s 2013 “Top Hospitals” in Southern California are: , , , , , , , and .

To make the “Top Hospital” list, facilities must deliver the highest quality care by preventing medication errors, maintaining proper intensive care unit staffing with physicians trained in critical care medicine, and achieving overall high safety scores.

“It is wonderful to be recognized not only for our commitment to quality health care and patient safety, but also for our consistently high results in these areas. Our physicians and staff work very hard to apply the highest safety standards while delivering superior care and outcomes with heart and compassion. This honor also reflects our culture of continuous improvement in all aspects of the care we provide to our members,” said , executive medical director for the . “Kaiser Permanente’s electronic medical record system, physician staffing at all our intensive care units, and the highest standards for high-risk procedures enable us to consistently attain high marks from prestigious organizations like The Leapfrog Group.”

“The Leapfrog ‘Top Hospital’ designation is a nationally recognized standard for comparing hospitals’ performance across all areas of quality and patient safety,” said , MPH, MACP, Group President for Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, and Chair of the Board of Trustees, American Hospital Association. “This year, Kaiser Permanente also reached an important milestone with the announcement that all Kaiser Permanente medical centers included in The Leapfrog Group’s semiannual Hospital Safety Score Report received an ‘A’ grade. Kaiser Permanente is consistently receiving the highest accolades for quality and safety because our doctors, nurses and caregivers, working together within our unique system of coordinated care, are dedicated to helping each of our members to live well and thrive.”

The 2013 “Top Hospital” list is made up of academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings. Of the 1,324 hospitals participating in The Leapfrog Group’s annual survey, 19 Kaiser Permanente medical centers in California were among the 55 named “Top Urban Hospitals” nationally, including the following in northern California: Antioch, Fresno, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, San Jose, Santa Clara, South San Francisco, Vacaville and Walnut Creek.

The results of the survey are posted at and are available to patients and families, the public, employers, and other purchasers of health care.

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.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 3.6 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: .