Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in Walnut Creek and Antioch are 2013 Leapfrog Top Hospitals

Ten Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals, including those in Antioch and Walnut Creek, have been named 2013 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, an honor that rewards medical centers for outstanding success in such areas as the use of electronic health records to reduce medication and other errors, performance on high-risk surgical procedures, low mortality rates, and appropriate physician staffing. 

Nine Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California also received the honor. In all, only 90 hospitals around the country were named Top Hospitals, out of approximately 1,300 surveyed.

The 19 Kaiser Permanente hospitals honored in California comprise more than a third of the 55 top urban hospitals with that designation nationally, and all but two of the top urban hospitals named in California.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Top Hospitals in 2013 are:

• Antioch                                                       
  
• Fresno     
• Oakland     
• Richmond
• Roseville     
  
• San Jose                                                    
• Santa Clara
• South San Francisco                                                                
  
• Vacaville                
  
• Walnut Creek

“Our medical centers in Antioch and Walnut Creek are among the nation’s best,” said Colleen Mckeown, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area. “It is an honor and privilege to provide this high level of care to the residents of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Whether seeking care at one of our medical centers in Walnut Creek or Antioch or at our medical offices, our patients receive the best care.”

The Kaiser Permanente hospitals honored in Southern California are: Downey, Fontana, Irvine, Los Angeles, Ontario, Panorama City, Riverside, San Diego and Woodland Hills.

“This recognition highlights the success of our dedicated physicians, staff and care givers who choose every day to give their best to our patients,” said Dr. Judy Lively, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area.

“The excellence of our physicians and technology make Kaiser Permanente an industry leader,” said Dr. David Niver, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area “We continue to be innovators and this ‘Top Hospital’ recognition reaffirms that we are putting patients first and providing excellent care.”

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded in 1998 to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability.  It is an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers.  The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind.

The 2013 list of Top Hospitals includes university and other teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings. The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, addressing areas of hospital care including how patients fare, resource use, and management structures in place to prevent treatment errors. The results of the survey are posted on a website open to patients and families, the public, employers, and other purchasers of health care. The website is http://www.leapfroggroup.org/cp

Leapfrog also updated its hospital safety scores released earlier this year. Twenty of Kaiser Permanente’s hospitals in Northern California, including the medical centers in Antioch and Walnut Creek, received “A” grades, the highest possible.