Children’s Health Children’s Medical Center Plano Awarded Coveted 2014 Leapfrog Top Hospital Distinction

Children’s Health℠ Plano Awarded

Coveted 2014 Leapfrog Top Hospital Distinction

Recognition Highlights the Nation’s Premier Hospitals for Safety and Quality 

Plano, TX -- December 4, 2014 – For the first time, The Leapfrog Group has named Children’s Health℠ Plano to its list of Top Hospitals. An elite distinction awarded to hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. The awards, which are given annually, were announced at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting and Top Hospital Awards on December 2, in Washington, D.C.

Children's Medical Center Plano was one of just nine children’s hospitals across the nation to be named to the Leapfrog Top Hospital list. Less than two percent of all hospitals in the U.S. are recognized.

“This distinction is an honor for Children's Medical Center Plano,” said Christopher J. Durovich, president and CEO of Children’s Health. “Being named as a Leapfrog Group Top Children’s Hospital is a recognition of the dedication, commitment and effort our entire organization invests to fulfill our mission of making life better for children, and honoring the sacred trust that patients and their families place in us for their care.”

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 established to prevent errors. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award.

“Leapfrog’s Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most prestigious distinctions any hospital can achieve in the United States. It recognizes institutions for their excellence in quality of care and patient safety, as well as their commitment to transparency. By achieving Top Hospital status, Children's Medical Center Plano has proven it’s a premier institution and deserves to be recognized for its dedication to the families and patients in Plano,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.

The Top Hospital award is not given to a set number of hospitals, but rather, to all urban, rural and children's hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year's Top Hospitals Methodology. To see the full list of institutions honored as a 2014 Top Hospital, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About Children’s Health

Children’s Health System of Texas (Children’s Health℠) is one of the nation’s leading pediatric healthcare systems, providing a full spectrum of healthcare services for children in Dallas, North Texas and surrounding regions.  Children’s Health℠ includes a clinically integrated network featuring the flagship hospital Children’s Medical Center Dallas, as well as Children’s Medical Center Plano and Children’s Specialty Center Southlake, 18 Children’s Health Pediatric Group primary care centers, home health, physician practices and professional services and a pediatric research institute.  For more information, please visit www.childrens.com.

About The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit 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. The Hospital Safety Score (www.hospitalsafetyscore.org) is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group.