(Chelsea Update would like to thank Bobby Maldonado for the information in this story.)
St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea was recently named Michigan’s only top general hospital by a national ranking agency.
The Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM), a nonprofit group comprised of Michigan’s largest employers and unions, along with The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C-based organization aiming to improve health care quality for consumers, employers and purchasers, made the announcement.
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Chelsea is one of only 45 hospitals in the country to receive the Top General Hospital award. This is the hospital’s first time achieving this explementary status. Each year, roughly only two percent of hospitals in the U.S. are awarded Top Hospital.
In response to the recognition, Nancy Graebner, president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea, said, “This recognition tells our patients and their families that they can receive remarkable care right here in their own community. Our medical staff, nurses and all employees continue to elevate quality and patient safety standards across the hospital and are ensuring that all patients receive the highest level of care possible.”
This year, Leapfrog recognized 109 Top Hospitals across the country. Of those, 10 were Top Children’s Hospitals, 18 Top Rural Hospitals, 36 Top Teaching Hospitals and, as previously mentioned, 45 Top General Hospitals.
“The Leapfrog Group sets the toughest standards for patient safety and quality in the industry and we congratulate St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea for all their hard work and dedication in achieving this exceptional accomplishment,” said Bret Jackson, president, EAM. “There is a great deal of exceptional care delivered in and around Washtenaw County and St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea is raising the bar.”
The Top Hospital award is given to teaching, general, rural and children’s hospitals that publicly report their performance through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and meet the high standards defined in the Top Hospitals Methodology. This includes infection rates, maternity care and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors, among other standards. To see the full national list of institutions honored as 2017 Top Hospitals, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.
