2009 Leapfrog Award

Northwestern Memorial Hospital receives an award from the Leapfrom Group during the December 2009 Leapfrog Annual Meeting.

From the Left: Leah Binder, Leapfrog CEO, David Liebovitz, Stephanie Kitt, Dennis Murphy, David Knowlton, Chair, Leapfrog Board of Directors,

What is the Leapfrom Group?

The Leapfrog Group (http://www.leapfroggroup.org/) compares hospitals on patient safety, quality, and efficiency. 34 urban hospitals made this “Top Hospitals” list for 2009 including Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In total, 1,206 hospitals completed their survey process.

In 2009, Top Hospitals in urban settings fulfill the following criteria:

• Fully meet Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems (that have been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 85%), 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% 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.