Larkin Community Hospital Named One of the Safest for Patients

SOUTH MIAMI, Fla., May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Larkin Community Hospital (LCH), one of Florida's twelve statutory teaching hospitals and the largest osteopathic teaching hospital in the nation, was named one of the safest hospitals for patients by The Leapfrog Group.  The South Miami healthcare provider achieved an A in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which is the gold standard for comparing the performance of hospitals' nationwide based on national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most important to consumers and employers who purchase care.  Leapfrog Group was founded by employer organizations and is supported by the Business Roundtable, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and organizations around the country focused on initiating improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare for Americans.

Larkin Community Hospital's achievement stood out in the national assessment as Leapfrog reported that nearly three quarters of the 2,514 participating hospitals' status did not change from the last report in 2012.  Hospitals' are graded against a 26-point quality measurement scale, and then filtered against the performances of a rigorous 15-point process and structure examining key indicators including hospital outcome measures.  Information for the study was drawn from hospital survey participants and publicly available data from reputable sources. 

Dr. Jack J. Michel, Chairman of Larkin Community Hospital, believes that anyone seeking healthcare must be an informed consumer. "Choosing a doctor and a hospital for care should not be taken lightly.  It means doing your research to make sure you are confident you are getting the highest quality of care for you and your loved ones.  Surveys such as this one provide an unbiased, fact-based assessment on key health indicators that can help would-be patients make an informed decision."  Dr. Michel says he tells patients there are a number of questions they should be asking.  "I look for a track record.  If I am looking at a surgeon, I want to make sure they have had a significant amount of surgeries and have seen a variety of cases.  I want to know about their outcomes and how they treat their patients.  It's no different when you are deciding on a hospital.  I look for a hospital that I feel confident I can literally trust with my life. People will spend months before purchasing a big-ticket item like a car.  Health care decisions deserve the same serious consideration. "

LCH is academically affiliated with Jackson Memorial Hospital, Holtz Children's Hospital, Miami Children's Hospital, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Nemours Children's Hospital, Palmer Children's Hospital, Hialeah Hospital, and multiple federally qualified health Centers including Borinquen Health Care Center, Jessie Trice Community Health Center, Miami Beach Community Health Center, and Helen B. Bentley Health Care Center).  It is also affiliated with the CMA Clinics of Miami, the Beraja Medical Institute, Vitas Hospice and Palliative Care System, and the Miami Neuroscience Center at Larkin.

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Carmen Coya
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About Larkin Community Hospital:

Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) is a 146-bed Acute Care Medical, Surgical and Psychiatric Teaching Hospital fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Located in South Miami, Florida, LCH is one of 12 designated Statutory Teaching Hospitals in Florida and the largest teaching hospital for Osteopathic physicians in the United States, offering training in 29 different specialties including a Registered Nurse Associate Degree program.  The hospital is home to the Miami Neuroscience Center, one of the nation's leading Gamma Knife Surgery programs and the only one of its kind in southeast Florida. The hospital is committed to providing the highest quality compassionate care in an educational environment.  For more information about Larkin Community Hospital, visit www.larkinhospital.com.

Larkin Community Hospital (LCH)
7031 SW 62nd Avenue
South Miami, FL 33143.
www.larkinhospital.com

SOURCE Larkin Community Hospital