Virginia Mason Named 2009
Leapfrog Top Hospital
December 3, 2009 | Seattle
Virginia Mason has been named a 2009 Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, which recognizes hospitals for their quality outcomes and effective use of health care resources for patients.
This is the fourth consecutive year VM has received the honor since the recognition programs inception in 2006. VM is one of just 37 hospitals and eight children's hospitals in the country and the only hospital in the Pacific Northwest named to the 2009 list.
The award is based on the results of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the nation's premier hospital evaluation tool. The survey provides consumers and health care purchasers with up-to-date assessments of hospitals' quality and safety programs and outcomes.
To be named a Top Hospital, Virginia Mason had to:
- Fully meet Leapfrogs standard for computer physician order entry (CPOE).
- Fully meet Leapfrogs intensive care unit (ICU) staffing standard.
- Meet Leapfrogs standards for complex procedures, such as heart bypass surgery, resection of the pancreas, resection of the esophagus, etc.
- Rank among the top 10 percent of all hospitals measured for efficiency, according to the Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program. Efficiency is a measure that combines scores for quality and resource use, or value. For 2009, Virginia Mason ranked in the top 1 percent in this category.
"This recognition reflects the outstanding work our physicians and team members do on behalf of our patients every day," said Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Virginia Mason chairman and CEO. "We know The Leapfrog Groups standards are high and its methodology identifies those hospitals that are truly committed to providing the highest quality, safest care for patients. We are proud Virginia Mason is part of this exceptional and exclusive group."
"As our country works through health care reform, our nations leaders should take note that organizations such as Virginia Mason have clearly debunked the myth that quality can only come with higher cost", said Carolyn Corvi, chair of the Virginia Mason Health System/Virginia Mason Medical Center Boards of Directors. "Virginia Mason has proved that providing high quality health care at a lower cost is not only achievable, but that it should be an expectation."
VM attributes much of its quality, patient safety and efficiency improvements to staffs work with the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS), the organizations management method based on the Toyota Production System. VMPS seeks to continually improve how work is done by identifying and eliminating waste and inefficiency in the many processes that are part of the health care experience. By streamlining repetitive, low-touch aspects of care delivery, staff members are freed to spend more time talking with, listening to and treating patients.
MacDonald-Miller is the mechanical contractor for a 362,000 sq. ft. addition to Virginia Mason that includes a new emergency department, intensive care unit, critical care unit, and acute care.