UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Named Among Nation’s Premier Hospitals in Annual Quality Survey

“Top Hospitals” Award Recognizes Highest Levels of Quality and Safety in Hospitals

By Melinda Krigel

Dr. Garani Nadaraja smiles while treating a young patient
Garani Nadaraja, MD, pediatric otolaryngologist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, treats 20-month-old Cash Knudsen, as mom Chanele Hellwege (left) and Elizabeth Shuman (right), MD, look on. Photo by Noah Berger

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has been awarded a “2018 Top Hospitals” award by The Leapfrog Group, placing it among an elite group of hospitals that have achieved the highest levels of quality and safety. The Oakland hospital was one of only two children’s hospitals in California to receive the distinction and the only children’s hospital in Northern California to do so.

The Leapfrog Group is a national health care nonprofit supported by employers and other purchasers of health care. This year, it selected 118 Top Hospitals for recognition, including 13 children’s hospitals, 35 general hospitals, 53 teaching hospitals and 17 rural hospitals. The winners were officially recognized at Leapfrog’s annual awards dinner and ceremony on Dec. 4, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

“This is a great honor that reflects the tremendous dedication of our nurses and clinical teams to bring the highest level of care to our patients, and it affirms our commitment to driving toward ‘zero harm’,” said Michael Anderson, MD, president of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. “We take great pride that our Oakland hospital has been recognized for its efforts in safety and reliability, while remaining true to its mission as a safety net hospital for the children of our region.” 

The competitive award is based on the results of the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, a voluntary survey of nearly 2,000 hospitals nationwide that assesses hospitals’ performance on national standards of patient safety, quality, efficiency and management structures that prevent errors. 

The Leapfrog survey provides a comprehensive picture of how patients fare at individual institutions and considers performance across many areas of hospital care, including preventing infections, use of technology to ensure safer care and leadership policies and practices. The “Top Hospitals” have better systems in place to prevent medication errors and reduce infection rates, among other qualities, according to the group.

To be considered, the hospitals had to have received an A in the most recent round of scoring in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and rank in the top 10 percent of all hospitals for their overall Value Score, calculated in the Leapfrog Value-Based Purchasing Program. The Value Score is a weighted, composite score of the most important national patient safety, quality, and resource use standards, as assessed through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. 

For information on the methodology for Top Hospitals and the full list of 2018 honorees, please visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About UCSF Health: UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is ranked among the top 10 hospitals nationwide, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with campuses in San Francisco and Oakland, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area.