Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Ranked Fifth Nationally in List of “Exceptional Hospitals” for Patient Safety by Consumers Digest and Leapfrog Group

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Consumers Digest magazine has listed Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital fifth in a national ranking of “50 Exceptional Hospitals” for patient safety.

The listing is contained in the magazine’s March issue.

Consumers Digest derived its rankings from a survey of hospitals by The Leapfrog Group, a coalition of some of the nation’s largest corporations that is calling upon hospitals to make advances in patient safety.

The hospitals in the list were ranked based on their implementation of quality and safety practices endorsed by the National Quality Forum: their use of board-certified “intensivist” doctors to manage their intensive-care units, physicians order entry via computers, and performance of selected high-risk procedures.

“Being included among the top five hospitals nationally by Consumers Digest demonstrates that Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is a leader in patient safety,” said Peter Amenta, MD, the hospital’s senior vice president for medical affairs and chief of staff. “This distinction illustrates Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s commitment to excellence in patient care.”

In addition to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the top five listing of Exceptional Hospitals included Massachusetts General in Boston; Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ; and the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine.

Also making the list was Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, which ranked 45th.

The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 by the Business Roundtable and has support from the National Health Care Purchasing Institute. More than 115 Fortune 500 corporations and other large private and public sector health benefits purchasers have joined The Leapfrog Group initiative, representing more than 32 million enrollees. It was created to help save lives and reduce preventable medical mistakes by giving consumers the information they need to make more informed health care choices.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.


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