The Leapfrog Group Will Publicly Report on Nursing Excellence
In 2011 hospital ratings will include Magnet® status for the first time.
July 27, 2011 – In recognition of a growing body of studies highlighting the key role nurses’ play in patient safety, The Leapfrog Group announced they will publicly report on hospitals that have demonstrated nursing excellence on Leapfrog’s annual hospital survey. Making the announcement at AARP’s Champion Nursing Council and Coalition Meeting in Washington, DC, Leapfrog’s CEO Leah Binder stated, “With this addition to our annual survey, Leapfrog is recognizing the vital role nurses play in patient safety and their strong commitment to transparency. As I visit hospitals across the country, I am constantly finding that the highest performing hospitals, many of Leapfrog’s Top Hospitals, have earned the prestigious recognition of Magnet® and nurses are the most vocal supporters of making patient safety and quality information transparent. Our employer members value this designation, and its implications for safety, and believe hospitals deserve recognition when they achieve it.” The 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey data is publicly available for the first time today.
The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to recognize healthcare organizations that provide nursing excellence. The program also provides a vehicle for disseminating successful nursing practices and strategies. Recognizing quality patient care, nursing excellence, and innovations in professional nursing practice, the Magnet Recognition Program provides consumers with a reliable benchmark to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive.
“We are thrilled that The Leapfrog Group has decided to recognize the achievement of the Magnet credential in this meaningful way,” said Magnet Recognition Program® Director Craig Luzinski, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE. “Adding Magnet Recognition to the list of factors that exemplify safe and high quality care in the Leapfrog survey is an important way for these hospitals to be acknowledged for their nursing excellence.”
Today’s announcement comes as part of The Leapfrog Group’s commitment to implement recommendations found in Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” Binder joined other healthcare, business, consumer, and education leaders at a meeting convened by the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA), an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. CCNA is working with national and state stakeholders to drive action in support of the IOM recommendations.
“Representing purchasers of healthcare, Leapfrog offers an important business perspective to the importance of strong nursing,” said Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy Institute and CCNA’s Chief Strategist. “High quality health care requires high quality nurse-delivered care.”
Hospitals participating in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey that indicate they have current Magnet® status designation, as determined by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) will automatically earn full credit for Safe Practice #9 Nursing Workforce. This section of the survey is used to score hospitals on their commitment to staffing their hospitals with highly trained nurses and putting those nurses in leadership positions which allow them to have substantial input into patient safety issues.
The free survey, which is open to every acute-care hospital in the country, is the gold standard for comparing hospitals’ performance on the national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the nation’s oldest and most transparent all-payor national hospital survey. Leapfrog’s Survey team consult with leading purchasers and several panels of experts to continually update the survey to reflect the most up to date evidence and assure alignment with other national reporting initiatives such as CMS and the Joint Commission.
Results from the survey 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey can be viewed atwww.leapfroggroup.org/cp where visitors can search for hospitals by city, state, or zip code. A list of hospitals reporting Magnet® status to Leapfrog is available atwww.leapfroggroup.org/MagnetRecognition. In addition, the designation will be displayed by hospital under the section titled “Steps to Avoid Harm.” Visitors can also find information, by hospital, on infection rates, survival rates for certain high-risk surgeries, rates of hospital-acquired injuries, rates of early elective deliveries, and much more about a hospital’s safety and quality.
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health benefits founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality, and affordability. Leapfrog purchaser members use hospital survey results in contracting, open enrollment with their employees and other public reporting, benefits design, and value-based purchasing programs. View results of the 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey atwww.leapfroggroup.org/cp. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey focuses on three critical areas of patient safety and quality: how patients fare, which includes issues like mortality for common high-risk surgeries and procedures; resources used to care for patients measured by length of stay and readmission rates; and management practices that promote safety and quality, such as adopting computerized physician order entry to reduce medication errors. For information on how to participate in the 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, visit www.leapfroghospitalsurvey.org.
About the American Nurses Credentialing Center
ANCC provides individuals and organizations throughout the nursing profession with the resources they need to achieve practice excellence. ANCC’s internationally renowned credentialing programs certify nurses in specialty practice areas; recognize healthcare organizations for promoting safe, positive work environments through the Magnet Recognition Program®, Pathway to Excellence®, and Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care™ Programs; and accredit providers of continuing nursing education. In addition, ANCC’s Institute for Credentialing Innovation® provides leading-edge information and education services and products to support its core credentialing programs. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the first and only healthcare certification organization in the United States to have successfully achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. www.nursecredentialing.org