LEHIGH ACRES — On Tuesday, Dec. 7, Lehigh Regional Medical Center received a Top Hospital award by The Leapfrog Group. This national distinction recognizes the highest quality hospitals through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards an American hospital can receive.

“We are pleased to recognize Lehigh Regional Medical Center as a Top Hospital this year,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Even with the continued strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lehigh Regional Medical Center has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to excellent health care in the Lehigh community. We congratulate the Board, Leadership, Staff and Clinicians who put their patients first.”

For 2021, Leapfrog awarded 149 Top Hospitals in four categories: Top Children’s, Top General, Top Rural and Top Teaching. Lehigh Regional Medical Center received a Top Rural distinction.

To qualify for the Top Hospitals 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. To see the methodology for Top Hospitals and the full list of institutions honored as 2021 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

“Recognition for delivering excellence in patient care is an honor. At Lehigh Regional Medical Center, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality, compassionate care to our patients and community,” said Cheryl McIntire, CEO/CFO of Lehigh Regional Medical Center. “This national recognition is a testament to our commitment of providing outstanding healthcare close to home. Thank you to all of our staff for their dedication and contribution to this remarkable achievement.

In a 2019 analysis, the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality found 45,000 fewer deaths than a 2016 analysis, based on the prevalence of safety problems in hospitals graded by The Leapfrog Group. The safety scores consider such factors as:

• How often a hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition or procedure
• The environment in which patients receive care (e.g. whether a hospital uses a computerized physician order entry system to prevent medication errors)

• What happens to a patient while receiving care (e.g. whether care teams left foreign objects in patients while undergoing surgery)
• The Safety Grade uses up to 27 national performance measures to grade hospitals using a methodology developed with guidance from the foremost experts in patient safety. The Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.