Kaiser Permanente Vallejo and Vacaville Among 10 Kaiser Permanente Hospitals in NorCal Named ‘Top Hospitals'

Of the 67 Top Urban Hospitals named in the U.S. this year, 17 are Kaiser Permanente medical centers in California, including Vacaville and Vallejo

Ten Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals have been named 2012 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, including those in Vacaville and Vallejo, 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 infection rates, and appropriate physician and nursing staffing.  

Seven Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California also received the honor. In all, 92 hospitals around the country were named Top Hospitals, out of more than 1,200 surveyed.

This is the second straight year Kaiser Permanente’s Vacaville Medical Center has received the designation.

The 17 honored Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California comprise more than a quarter of the 67 top urban hospitals listed nationally.

“This recognition highlights the amazing work we are doing and our commitment to returning patients to health,” said Steven Stricker, MD, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente Napa Solano. “The dedicated physicians, nurses and staff at our Vacaville and Vallejo hospitals set the bar in providing expert care. With our Level III trauma center in Vacaville, our advanced information technology, and as the largest health care provider in Solano County, we are committed to providing the community with high-quality care.”

Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Top Hospitals in 2012 are:

• Antioch
• Richmond
• Roseville
• San Francisco
• Santa Clara
• South Sacramento
• South San Francisco
• Vacaville
• Vallejo
• Walnut Creek

The Kaiser Permanente hospitals honored in Southern California are: Fontana, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, South Bay (formerly Harbor City), West Los Angeles and Woodland Hills.

“Leapfrog has recognized that our Vacaville and Vallejo medical centers are among the very best in the nation,” said Max Villalobos, hospital administrator/CEO for Kaiser Permanente in the Napa Solano Area. “We accept that honor with great pride and responsibility. We will continue to provide the best care to all of our patients. Our emergency department and trauma center are open to all and as we continue to grow the trauma services available in our Level III trauma center, like adding neurosurgical capabilities, we are prepared to meet the needs of the community for years to come.”

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago 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 2012 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, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use, and management structures in place to prevent 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. In all, 17 of Kaiser Permanente’s 21 hospitals in Northern California received “A” grades, the highest possible. One received a “B” grade, and the remainder were not graded because they lacked sufficient volume in several measures used in the scoring.