TACOMA, Wash. — MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital earned a 2023 Top Children’s Hospital award by The Leapfrog Group. Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is bestowed by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers known as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.
Top Hospitals will be honored tonight at the 2023 Leapfrog annual meeting and awards dinner in Washington, D.C. Jeff Poltawsky, president and market leader of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network will represent the hospital and accept the award.
Mary Bridge Children’s is one of eight children’s hospital award recipients this year. There are more than 250 children’s hospitals in the U.S.
“It’s an honor to be one of only eight children’s hospitals nationwide recognized as a Top Children’s Hospital award this year,” said Poltawsky. “At Mary Bridge Children’s, we have more than 1,700 incredible physicians, providers and staff who — both individually and collectively — do an exceptional job living our mission and values every day and work hard to provide the best pediatric care available in the Pacific Northwest. Achieving this award signifies our organization’s commitment to high reliability and advancing our culture of safety.”
More than 2,100 hospitals were considered for a Leapfrog Top Hospital award in four categories. Among those, Mary Bridge Children’s received a Top Children’s distinction. A total of 132 Top Hospitals were selected, including:
- 8 Top Children’s
- 34 Top General
- 15 Top Rural
- 75 Top Teaching
The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology.
“Protecting patients from preventable harm is the cornerstone of The Leapfrog Group’s mission,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Mary Bridge Children’s demonstrated that patient safety is their top priority, and we’re truly pleased to recognize them as a Top Hospital this year. Congratulations to hospital staff at all levels who made this national recognition possible.”
To qualify for the distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety and achieve top performance in their category. Visit their site to see the full list of institutions honored as 2023 Top Hospitals.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. For more, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and sign up for our newsletter.
About Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1955, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital is the state-designated Level II Pediatric Trauma Center for Western Washington. Offering comprehensive care and resources for critically ill and injured children, Mary Bridge Children’s is the only pediatric hospital in Southwest Washington. Mary Bridge Children’s also provides primary, specialty, therapy and urgent care services at its outpatient centers and clinics across the Puget Sound region, including Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Olympia, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Renton, Bonney Lake and Silverdale.
Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Network believes that kids should be at the front of the line. More than a place of hope and healing, Mary Bridge Children’s is a place where expert care helps kids get back to doing what they do best: being kids. Mary Bridge Children’s serves children and families, regardless of ability to pay, thanks to generous contributions to the Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation.
Mary Bridge Children’s is a part of MultiCare Health System, the largest community-based and locally governed health system in Washington state. For more information about Mary Bridge Children’s, visit marybridge.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, or our Kite Strings blog.
