UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Only Northeast Ohio Hospital Named to Leapfrog's Top Children's Hospital Honor Roll

CLEVELAND, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (UH Rainbow) is one of only 13 children's hospitals in the country – and the only one in northern Ohio – to receive the Top Children's Hospital distinction from The Leapfrog Group. This national recognition honors UH Rainbow for its exemplary performance in patient safety, quality initiatives and highly reliable care.  

"Our physicians and staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care in the safest environment that uniquely caters to babies and children, and their families," says Patricia DePompei, RN, MSN, President, UH Rainbow and UH MacDonald Women's Hospital.

UH Rainbow was selected as a Top Hospital out of a record number of 1,324 hospitals participating in The Leapfrog Group's annual survey. The list includes 22 Top Rural Hospitals, 55 Top Urban Hospitals and 13 Top Children's Hospitals. The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group's annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals' performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use and management structures in place to prevent errors. 

UH Rainbow has been a leader in quality and safety practices for many years. In 2009, those practices received national attention when UH Rainbow and seven other Ohio children's hospitals banded together to launch the Ohio Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety (OCHSPS), a nonprofit corporation to improve safety at the state's pediatric hospitals through transparency, safety and quality.

"To date, the efforts of OCHSPS have saved thousands of children from unnecessary harm," says Ethan Leonard, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director of Quality at UH Rainbow, and the local lead for OCHSPS National Children's Network. "While there is still work to be done, we have made significant progress and will continue efforts around patient safety until there are no longer adverse events to report."

For more than 125 years, UH Rainbow has been a leader in innovation, research and specialty care for babies and children. In June, UH Rainbow was once again ranked one of America's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in nine children's specialties, including #2 in the nation for neonatology, #7 for pulmonology, and #13 for endocrinology and neurology .

The results of the Leapfrog Group's annual survey are posted here.

About University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital
Located on the campus of University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is a 244-bed, full-service children's hospital and academic medical center dedicated to the healthcare needs of children. A trusted leader in children's healthcare for more than 125 years, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital consistently ranks among the top children's hospitals in the nation. As the region's premier resource for pediatric referrals, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital's dedicated team of more than 1,300 pediatric specialists uses the most advanced treatments and latest innovations to deliver the complete range of pediatric specialty services for more than 700,000 patient encounters each year. Learn more at RainbowBabies.org.

Among the nation's leading academic medical centers, UH Case Medical Center is the primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, a nationally recognized leader in medical research and education.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

SOURCE University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital