VIPs celeberate 'Top Hospital' honors with Swedish Covenant Hospital staff
Congressional staffers and distinguished members of Chicago's business community were in attendance Jan. 30, as Swedish Covenant Hospital was recognized for being the city's only Leapfrog Top Hospital for quality and safety in 2013.
Hundreds of Swedish Covenant Hospital employees attended the presentation in the hospital's Galter Medical Pavilion. The award was presented by Larry Boress, president and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health, the local coordinating group for The Leapfrog Group, a national organization committed to the safety, quality and affordability of health care.
“Congratulations for the commitment you've made to patient safety, and to developing a culture of safety so that patients can feel confident that when they come to Swedish Covenant Hospital, they will receive quality care,” said Boress.
Also in attendance at the celebratory event were Kris Sadur, outreach coordinator from Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's office, and Mary Ann Levar, district director for Congressman Mike Quigley's office.
The Top Hospital award is widely cited as the nation's most competitive annual hospital quality award. Swedish Covenant Hospital was selected out of a record number of 1,324 organizations participating in The Leapfrog Group's annual survey. The list includes just 22 Top Rural Hospitals, 55 Top Urban Hospitals and 13 Top Children's Hospitals.
This award recognizes hospitals for:
· Lower infection rates
· Better-than-expected rates of survival for high-risk procedures
· Safety practices which prevent medication errors and other complications
· Past achievement of an A Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group
· Overall value
“As a hospital, we have been working on improving our quality and safety,” said Swedish Covenant Hospital CEO Mark Newton at Thursday's presentation. “But we never had a goal to be ‘Top Hospital,' or to win an award. Our goal was to continue to improve, and to continue to challenge ourselves. It's not just the award itself—it's the process of continual improvement.”