LVHN Nationally Recognized for Quality, Innovation and Efficiency

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Dec. 3, 2009) – Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) is being nationally recognized by two ratings organizations for quality, innovation and efficiency.

LVH is cited as one of the 10 Best Hospitals in America for 2009 by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading business and legal health care publication, and The Leapfrog Group lists LVH among the 2009 Leapfrog Top Hospitals. LVH is listed for the third straight year and is the only Pennsylvania hospital included among 37 general hospitals recognized by Leapfrog, a group of employers who purchase health care benefits for their employees.

LVH is joined on the Becker’s Best Hospitals list by other notable health care providers including Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and Mayo Clinic, which also joins LVH on the Leapfrog list along with others including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago; and Vanderbilt University Hospital in Tennessee.

“This year’s class of Top Hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication error prevention and preventing ICU deaths, but they also use their resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients,” said Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group. “Regardless of what happens to health care reform, these hospitals are the future.”

Among the criteria for consideration by Leapfrog are:

• Fully meet Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems (that have been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 85 percent), and for passing Leapfrog’s test of their system;
• Fully meet stringent performance standards for complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital;
• Fully meet standards for staffing the ICU, shown to reduce mortality by 40 percent or more;
• Score in the top decile in the country for efficiency – scored by the Leapfrog Hospital

Recognition Program incorporating quality outcomes, length of stay, readmission rates, and incidence of hospital-acquired conditions and infections. The efficiency standard applies to heart bypass surgery, heart angioplasty, heart attack and pneumonia patients.

Becker’s calls LVH a “beacon for every hospital” as we face the current recession citing how it has “thrived at a high-quality level” despite the difficult economic times. LVH is noted in Becker’s review of the top 10 hospitals for being recognized by other top hospital ratings services and publications including US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” for 14 consecutive years.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Primary Stroke Center. Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized by US News & World Report for 14 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals and is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing. Additional information is available at LVHN’s website and by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

This page last updated 12/4/09 08:59 AM