Leapfrog Group names Wolfson Children’s Hospital as one of 13 Top Children’s Hospitals in the nation, three in state

Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Wolfson Children’s Hospital of Jacksonville was named a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive honors American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is awarded by The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog organization.

Michael D. Aubin, Wolfson Children’s Hospital president, said, “The clinical team at Wolfson Children’s Hospital is honored to have earned this patient safety and quality award from The Leapfrog Group. We don’t seek quality awards and rankings for the recognition. We do it to make our care the safest and with the best outcomes. That’s what the children and families we serve demand and deserve.”

He added, “Thanks to our strong partnerships with Nemours Children’s Specialty Care and the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville, we are able to provide some of the best pediatric care in the nation.”

“Wolfson Children’s Hospital certainly merits this amazing distinction by Leapfrog of being among the top 13 children’s hospital in the country. The hospital has actively fostered efforts by our faculty and pediatric residents to improve the safety and quality of patient care, which then directly impacts the patient and family experience and results in better objective outcomes and overall value. We have partnered with Wolfson to broaden the depth of our faculty in quality improvement activities and to inculcate in our residents and fellows a zest to dig in and make a difference,” said Mark Hudak, MD, chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “Our faculty and residents have participated in national collaboratives in neonatology, in the care of children with complex medical problems, in the approach to young infants with fever, and in other initiatives – all of which have achieved success in advancing care. Our Department is also very excited about starting several new projects in collaboration with Wolfson.”

“What a well-deserved recognition! Nemours Children’s Specialty Care and Wolfson have partnered for nearly 25 years to provide children and families the very best care. In that time, we have witnessed their laser-like focus on delivering the safest, highest-quality care,” said Gary Josephson, MD, chief medical officer of Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville. “Nemours is proud to see them receive this prestigious recognition for the efforts and proud to serve families alongside them each day.”

Among thousands of hospitals in the country, Wolfson Children’s Hospital received a Top Hospital distinction, recognized nationally among 13 Top Children’s Hospitals.

Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, perinatal care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology.

“Being acknowledged as a Top Hospital is an incredible feat achieved by less than six percent of eligible hospitals nationwide,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “With this honor, Wolfson Children’s Hospital has established its commitment to safer and higher quality care. Providing this level of care to patients in the North Florida and South Georgia region requires motivation and drive from every team member. I congratulate the board, staff and clinicians, whose efforts made this honor possible.”

To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must submit a Leapfrog Hospital Survey and achieve highest performance in its category. The selection of Top Hospitals 2018 is based on surveys from nearly 1,900 hospitals. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2018 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

Wolfson Children’s Hospital is committed to providing safe, quality health care to children. In addition to being named as a 2018 Leapfrog Group Top Hospital, Wolfson Children’s is a three-time Magnet® designated hospital, a designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center that recognized excellence in patient care, and is named among the 2018-19 U.S News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals.

Services provided at Wolfson Children’s Hospital are provided primarily by pediatric physician specialists with Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville, University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville and Emergency Resources Group.

For more information on why quality rankings should matter to parents, please visit wolfsonchildrens.com.