11-28-2023 4:50am

LVHN Hospitals Receive Top Marks for Safety

Lesley Misko Editor

[ With Lehigh Valley Hospital's impending arrival in the Boyertown area, we continue to share news about the hospital. The following information was issued via press release.]

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest has received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group for fall 2023. Hospitals receive this recognition for protecting patients from preventable harm and errors in the hospital.

“High-quality, compassionate care begins with making safety a priority at every level,” says Matthew McCambridge, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality, Patient Safety and Acute Care Continuum Officer, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). “Our physicians, nurses and health care professionals go above and beyond to prevent harm, and receiving an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group is evidence of our commitment to safe care.”

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization that uses 30 national performance measures to grade hospitals from across the U.S.

Each hospital graded by Leapfrog receives an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” for safety. Leapfrog’s grading system takes several factors into account, including errors, accidents, injuries and infections patients may encounter while in the hospital. Leapfrog also grades the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety grading system is peer-reviewed and transparent to the public. It is also the only safety rating system in the country that exclusively measures how well hospitals prevent medical errors and harm to patients.

“Earning an ‘A’ Grade means LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Hecktown Oaks made a true commitment to put patients first,” says Leah Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the leadership, board, clinicians, staff and volunteers that all had a role to play in this achievement.”

Full safety grade details for LVH–Cedar Crest are available at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

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 for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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. For more, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter.

About LVHN

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) includes 13 hospital campuses, four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, and one in Lehighton, Pa.; 28 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices; 20 ExpressCARE locations including the area’s only Children’s ExpressCARE; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred.

Specialty care includes: trauma care for adults and children; burn care at the Regional Burn Center; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center; and robotic surgery in 10 specialties.

Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute, Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence, Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute and Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute physicians provide the most advanced treatments. Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance (MSK Cancer Alliance), an initiative that helps community providers improve the quality of cancer care and offers access to MSK clinical trials. Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, the third busiest children's hospital in Pennsylvania, offers the most comprehensive care for children in our community from primary care to pediatric specialties. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest is ranked as the region’s No. 1 hospital for 10 straight years and has been recognized among Pennsylvania’s top 10 hospitals for 10 consecutive years and nationally ranked for Orthopedics in 2023 by U.S. News & World Report. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, LVH–17th Street and LVH–Muhlenberg are the Lehigh Valley’s only Magnet® hospitals for nursing excellence. Additional information is available by visiting LVHN.org or following us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.