Cooley Dickinson Hospital Earns Leapfrog Top General Hospital Award

NORTHAMPTON — Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Cooley Dickinson was named a Top General Hospital nationally by the Leapfrog Group. Cooley Dickinson is among six hospitals in Massachusetts and the only hospital in Western Mass. to earn the distinction of a Top General Hospital.

The Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is awarded by the Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers recognized as the toughest standard setters for healthcare safety and quality. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2021 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

“I am so proud of the Cooley Dickinson team for being named a 2021 Leapfrog Top General Hospital,” said Dr. Lynnette Watkins, Cooley Dickinson president and CEO. “This award is validation of our commitment to put patients at the center of all that we do. We establish measures of success and hold ourselves accountable to reach our goals. It is a distinct honor to be among this elite group of hospitals.”

The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, surgery, maternity care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication and other errors.

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.

“We are pleased to recognize Cooley Dickinson 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, Cooley Dickinson Hospital has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to excellent healthcare in the upper Pioneer Valley community. We congratulate the board, leadership, staff, and clinicians who put their patients first.”