GSA Daily Staff Report
Published Dec. 2, 2009

The Leapfrog Group, a health care purchasers group, named Bon Secours St. Francis Health System’s downtown location as one of the 45 top hospitals in the nation for achieving high-level of standards of safety, quality and efficiency.

“This year’s class of top hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication error prevention and preventing ICU deaths, but they also use their resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients,” said Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Regardless of what happens to health care reform, these hospitals are the future.”

Of the 1,206 hospitals nationwide and 24 participating hospitals in South Carolina, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System Downtown is the only hospital in South Carolina to achieve this ranking. It is also only the second time any hospital in the Carolinas has made the list.

“This is a distinct honor,” said Mary Jo Cagle, chief medical officer. “It reflects that our physicians and staff have set the highest goals for quality of care measures – and their results are outstanding. These are projects that make a difference in lives of patients.”

This year’s top urban hospitals are:

Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix

Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Stanford, Calf.

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South Sacramento, Sacramento, Calif.

Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Sacramento, Sacramento, Calif.

Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center, Baldwin Park, Calif.

Kaiser Permanente Bellflower/Downey Medical Center, Bellflower, Calif.

Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center, Anaheim, Calif.

California Pacific Medical Center - Pacific Campus, San Francisco, Calif.

Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Hayward, Hayward, Calif.

University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, Calif.

California Pacific Medical Center - California Campus, San Francisco

California Pacific Medical Center - Davies Campus, San Francisco

NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park, Ill.

Rush University Medical Center, Chicago

Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago

University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston

Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston

Baystate Medical Center; Springfield, Mass.

North Shore Medical Center - Union Hospital, Lynn, Mass.

Norwood Hospital; Norwood, Mass.

Harper-Hutzel Hospital, Detroit

Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit

Regions Hospital; Saint Paul, Minn.

Mayo Clinic Saint Marys; Rochester, Minn.

Mayo Clinic - Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minn.

University Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton, NJ

The Valley Hospital; Ridgewood, NJ

James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute

Columbus OH The Ohio State University Hospital

Columbus OH Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Penn.

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Greenville

Vanderbilt University Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.

Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle

Top pediatric hospitals in 2009 are located in California, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. New this year, Leapfrog recognizes top rural hospitals. The award winners in 2009 are located in Georgia and Maine.