Children's National Health System named Leapfrog Group's "Top Hospital"

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Children's National Health System has been named a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital for 2017; one of only 10 children's hospitals in the United States and the only one in the mid-Atlantic region. This is the ninth time that Children's National has earned this prestigious designation given to hospitals with distinct achievements in patient safety and quality including lower infection rates, decreased length of stay, fewer readmissions and higher survival rates for high-risk procedures.

"We're pleased that the Leapfrog Group has recognized the efforts we make to continuously improve the quality and safety of our patient care," says Kurt Newman, M.D., President and CEO of Children's National. "This distinction highlights our commitment to helping children grow up stronger and wouldn't be possible with continuous improvement by our clinical care providers and our support teams."  

The Top Hospital list selection is based on The Leapfrog Group's annual survey of nearly 1,900 hospitals, across the country. The survey measures hospitals' performance in many areas of hospital care including reduced medication rates and capacity to prevent medication errors.

"We are proud to recognize Children's National Health System as a 2017 Leapfrog Top Hospital. This demonstrates extraordinary dedication to patients and the local community. The entire staff and board deserve praise for putting quality first and achieving results," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog.

Children's National is dedicated to improving the lives of all children through innovative research, high quality healthcare, and advocacy on behalf of children's needs. In addition to being named a 2017 Leapfrog Group Top Hospital for the third year in a row, Children's National is a two time Magnet® designated hospital, recognized for nursing excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and was named to the 2017-18 U.S News & World Report Honor Roll, a distinction given to the top performing children's hospitals in the country.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Children's National Health System
Children's National Health System, based in Washington, D.C., has been serving the nation's children since 1870. Children's National is #1 for babies and ranked in every specialty evaluated by U.S. News & World Report including placement in the top 10 for: Cancer (#7), Neurology and Neurosurgery (#9) Orthopedics (#9) and Nephrology (#10). Children's National has been designated two times as a Magnet® hospital, a designation given to hospitals that demonstrate the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers. Home to the Children's Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National is one of the nation's top NIH-funded pediatric institutions. Children's National is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels. For more information, visit ChildrensNational.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Children's National Health System