For the second consecutive year, The Leapfrog Group has named Morton Hospital to its annual list of Top Hospitals. An elite distinction awarded to hospitals nationwide for demonstrating excellence in hospital safety and quality through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is given to less than seven percent of all eligible hospitals. The awards, which are given annually, were announced at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting and Top Hospital Awards on December 2, in Washington, D.C.

“As health care providers, nothing is more important than ensuring that our patients receive safe, top quality care,” said Kim Bassett, RN, BSN, MBA, Morton Hospital president. “We are honored to have received back-to-back Top Hospital recognition and to share this achievement with our doctors, nurses and staff who continuously put our patients first.”

Morton Hospital was one of 94 Top Hospitals recognized nationally. The list includes 24 Top Rural Hospitals, 61 Top Urban Hospitals, and nine Top Children’s Hospitals. Among the hospitals reaching this achievement are academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, and community hospitals in rural, suburban and urban settings. 

“Leapfrog’s Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most prestigious distinctions any hospital can achieve in the United States. It recognizes institutions for their excellence in quality of care and patient safety, as well as their commitment to transparency. By achieving Top Hospital status, Morton Hospital has proven it’s a premier institution and deserves to be recognized for its dedication to the families and patients in greater Taunton,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
 
The Top Hospital selection is based on the results of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use and management structures established to prevent errors. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including rates for high-risk procedures and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors.

The Top Hospital award is not given to a set number of hospitals, but rather, to all urban, rural and children's hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year's Top Hospitals Methodology. To see the full list of institutions honored as a 2014 Top Hospital, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members. The Hospital Safety Score (www.hospitalsafetyscore.org) is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group.

About Morton Hospital
Morton Hospital is a 154-bed acute-care hospital providing comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and 24/7 emergency services to Taunton and the communities of southeastern Massachusetts. The hospital's strengths include cancer care, diabetes care, imaging services, maternity care, orthopedics, rehabilitation services, surgery and wound healing. Morton Hospital is routinely recognized for medical excellence and was named a 2013 Top Hospital for quality and patient safety by the Leapfrog Group.  Morton Hospital is part of the Steward Health Care Systems LLC, the largest integrated community care organization in New England which combines over 3,000 physicians, 11 acute care hospitals, managed care, insurance programs, home care, an imaging operation, and a number of other post acute services, to provide the most cost effective and highest quality of integrated patient care. Additional information is available at www.Mortonhospital.org