Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • December 16, 2009 Ridgewood Valley named to 2009 Top Hospitals list The Valley Hospital has been named a “2009 Top Hospital” based on the results from the annual Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey. To achieve a spot on the elite list, Valley scored among the best hospitals in the nation on four key indicators of hospital quality and efficiency. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the only national, public comparison of hospitals on key issues, including mortality rates for certain common procedures, infection rates, safety practices, and measures of efficiency, and is considered the “gold standard” for comparing hospitals’ performance. “We are honored to be among best hospitals in the country for quality and patient safety standards,” said Valley Hospital President and CEO Audrey Meyers. “Valley has made patient safety a priority, and our staff has worked diligently over the past several years to implement many successful quality and patient safety initiatives.” Valley was one of only 45 hospitals in the nation and was the only northern New Jersey hospital to earn inclusion on the list. Recipients of Leapfrog’s Top Hospital Award “lead through example – delivering the best quality care in the nation while attaining the highest levels of efficiency,” according to the Leapfrog Group, a health care safety and quality coalition supported by many of the nation’s largest corporations, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other sources. This is the third time The Valley Hospital has been named to Leapfrog’s Top Hospitals list. Hospitals that made the Top Hospitals list had to fulfill the following criteria: Fully meet Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order entry systems (that have been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 85 percent), and pass Leapfrog’s test of their system; fully meet stringent performance standards for complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital; fully meet standards for staffing the ICU, shown to reduce mortality by 40 percent or more; score in the top decile in the country for efficiency – scored by the Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program incorporating quality outcomes, length of stay, readmission rates, and incidence of hospital acquired conditions and infections. The efficiency standard applies to heart bypass surgery, heart angioplasty, heart attack, and pneumonia patients. The Top Hospital Awards were presented earlier this month. Vice President of Medical Affairs & Education Mitchell Rubinstein, M.D. and Director of Patient Safety Michael Mutter accept the Top Hospital Award from Leah Binder, CEO of the Leapfrog Group. ������������������������������������ ��������������� ��������������� ������������ ���������������� ����������������� �������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ��������������������������� ���������������������������������������� ����������������������� ����������������������������������������� ������������������������� �������������������� ��������������������������� WHY TAKE CHANCES? ���������������������� A big snow storm can be both inconvenient and dangerous to your health. We have a machine in stock to suit your needs, from electric shovels to powerful 10.0 HP models. Talk to us...We’ll sell you the right size for the job, at the right price. Talk to your kids about how dangerous it can be. ��������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ������������������ � Model # PR8ES27