CDH Achieves Top 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} Leapfrog Score in Survey

NORTHAMPTON — The Leapfrog Group reports that Cooley Dickinson Hospital ranked in the top 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} on a national efficiency score that takes into account the quality of care hospitals provide as well as resource use.

Among the Leapfrog database of 1,184 hospitals from 45 states, Cooley Dickinson earned scores of 81 on quality and 85 on resource use in the 2010 Hospital Survey. The efficiency score combines the quality and resource scores, with quality weighted most. Cooley Dickinson’s 82 for efficiency is 8 points above the 74 score needed to rank in the top 10 {06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}.

“The Leapfrog scores are yet another validation that Cooley Dickinson provides high-quality care without overusing resources,” said Craig Melin, president and CEO. “This means Cooley Dickinson offers good value to the community we serve and the employers who insure many of our patients.”

Leapfrog’s quality score is based on a hospital’s performance on a range of national quality standards. The standards measured include care provided for common acute conditions such as pneumonia, normal deliveries of babies, intensive care unit physician staffing levels, and performance on preventing conditions such as pressure ulcers and injuries for patients who stay in the hospital.

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services also reported recently that Cooley Dickinson scored 0 — lower is better — on eight hospital-acquired-condition measures it monitors. Cooley Dickinson’s performance exceeded the national rate on every one of the measures.

“Simply put, our performance in this area means that Cooley Dickinson does a better job at preventing harm to patients who choose our hospital for treatment,” said Dr. R.F. Conway, medical director of the Cooley Dickinson Hospital Emergency Department. “This performance is a tribute to all of the providers and staff who work day in and day out to deliver high-quality care.”

To measure resource use, Leapfrog evaluates data such as the average number of days patients are in the hospital for common conditions and how few of those patients are readmitted within 14 days.

Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder said that hospitals who participate in the Hospital Survey demonstrate “extraordinary commitment to transparency and quality improvement.” Leapfrog describes its Hospital Survey as “the gold standard for comparing hospitals’ performance on the national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care.”

The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality, and customer value will be recognized and rewarded.