UH Rainbow receives Top Children's Hospital distinction from Leapfrog Group

University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (UH Rainbow) is one of only 13 children's hospitals in the country - and the only one in northern Ohio - to receive the Top Children's Hospital distinction from The Leapfrog Group. This national recognition honors UH Rainbow for its exemplary performance in patient safety, quality initiatives and highly reliable care.

"Our physicians and staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care in the safest environment that uniquely caters to babies and children, and their families," says Patricia DePompei, RN, MSN, President, UH Rainbow and UH MacDonald Women's Hospital.

UH Rainbow was selected as a Top Hospital out of a record number of 1,324 hospitals participating in The Leapfrog Group's annual survey. The list includes 22 Top Rural Hospitals, 55 Top Urban Hospitals and 13 Top Children's Hospitals. The 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 in place to prevent errors.

UH Rainbow has been a leader in quality and safety practices for many years. In 2009, those practices received national attention when UH Rainbow and seven other Ohio children's hospitals banded together to launch the Ohio Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety (OCHSPS), a nonprofit corporation to improve safety at the state's pediatric hospitals through transparency, safety and quality.

"To date, the efforts of OCHSPS have saved thousands of children from unnecessary harm," says Ethan Leonard, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director of Quality at UH Rainbow, and the local lead for OCHSPS National Children's Network. "While there is still work to be done, we have made significant progress and will continue efforts around patient safety until there are no longer adverse events to report."