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2008
Summa Health System Named "Leapfrog Top Hospital" for 2nd Consecutive Year Summa one of only 26 adult hospitals nationwide to receive quality and safety award 7 October, 2008 Akron, Ohio – Summa Health System has been named a 2008 "Leapfrog Top Hospital," marking the second consecutive year Summa has received this distinction. One of only 26 adult hospitals in the nation to make the list, Summa received this designation based on results from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, a premier hospital patient safety evaluation tool.
According to The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based group aimed at improving the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare, the survey provides the most complete picture of hospital quality and safety in the U.S. It asks hospitals about their performance in four crucial areas:
- Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) – physicians entering patient prescriptions and other orders into computers linked to error medication prevention software
- High-risk procedures – how hospitals perform in select high-risk procedures
- ICU staffing – intensive care units staffed by qualified specialists
- Safety practices and policies – how well hospitals progress on other National Quality Forum-endorsed Safe Practices to reduce harm and errors
"At Summa, we pride ourselves on delivering high quality, high patient safety and the best patient experience to everyone who walks through our doors," said Tom Strauss, president and CEO of Summa Health System. "As the only Akron or Canton adult hospital to make the list and one of only three in the state, Summa's designation from Leapfrog is a true testament to our patient-centered culture and the extraordinary clinicians who provide the best in patient care every day."
In order to be a Top Hospital, an organization must fully meet Leapfrog standards for not only implementing CPOE systems that help prevent medication errors, but also have carefully tested their CPOE systems with Leapfrog's CPOE Evaluation Tool; meet stringent performance standards for at least one of the complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital; meet the ICU staffing standard; and meet or demonstrate "substantial progress" on 13 additional nationally-recognized safe practices, such as preventing pneumonia or bloodstream infections.
"It is an honor to once again receive this national recognition in the important areas of quality and safety," said Thomas G. Knoll, chair of the Summa Health System Board of Directors. "We strongly believe in serving the community by providing the best care available and this recognition underscores that commitment."
About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org). The Leapfrog Group uses its members' collective leverage to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care 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.
About Summa Health System
Summa Health System is one of the largest organized delivery systems in Ohio. Encompassing a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, research and a foundation, Summa is nationally renowned for excellence in patient care and for exceptional approaches to healthcare delivery. Summa's clinical services are consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report, Thomson Healthcare (formerly Solucient) and The Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.summahealth.org.
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