Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Receives Prestigious Recognition for Patient Safety Efforts in Natio...( One of only seven children's hospita...)

One of only seven children's hospitals in nation selected as Top Hospital

by the Leapfrog Group

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is one of only seven children's hospitals in the nation to have been selected as a 2008 Top Hospital by a national organization that evaluates patient safety at more than 1,220 participating hospitals.

Children's Hospital's recognition was based on the results of the 2008 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which is the nation's premier hospital patient safety evaluation tool. Thirty-three hospitals, including seven children's hospitals and 26 hospitals participating in the voluntary survey were named Top Hospitals by the Leapfrog Group. The Top Hospitals:

-- Fully met Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order

entry (CPOE) systems that help prevent medication errors, and have also

carefully tested their CPOE systems with Leapfrog's CPOE Evaluation

Tool

-- Fully met stringent performance standards for at least one of the

complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart surgery) done in that

particular hospital

-- Fully met the Intensive Care Unit staffing standard

-- Fully met or demonstrated "substantial progress" on 13 additional

nationally recognized safety practices, such as preventing pneumonia or

bloodstream infections.

"Families place an amazing amount of trust in us when they bring their children here for care, and because of that, Children's Hospital's highest priority has always been and always will be the safety and well-being of our patients," said Christopher A. Gessner, president, Children's Hospital. "This recognition is a testament to the tremendous dedication of our nurses, physicians, employees and staff to upholding that trust and working hard to provide a safe environment."

The voluntary survey evaluates hospitals about
'/>"/>