Two Central Maine Healthcare hospitals were named Top Hospitals in a national survey released Tuesday.

The Leapfrog Group has recognized Central Maine Medical Center as one of an elite group of Top Hospitals and Rumford Hospital as one of only 13 Top Rural Hospitals in the United States. This recognition follows a nationwide survey of some 1,200 hospitals.

Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) and Rumford Hospital are members of Central Maine Healthcare (CMH).

“CMMC is the only large Maine hospital to earn Top Hospital standing,” said CMMC President Laird Covey. “We are particularly pleased with our achievement as a Top Hospital because it validates years of effort to maximize patient safety. As the least expensive tertiary care hospital in Maine, independent confirmation of the premium we place on safety indicates that we offer a particularly good value: high quality care at a comparatively low cost.”

In a press release last week, the Leapfrog Group gave CMMC an A in its new ratings of hospital safety efforts, which is one of the minimum requirements for being considered for the Top Hospital award. Covey
also pointed out that CMMC was recognized by Consumer Reports magazine as the Safest Hospital in Maine.

Rumford Hospital’s status as a Top Hospital also follows national recognition for the high quality of services it provides.

“This recognition from The Leapfrog Group distinguishes Rumford Hospital as one of a handful of Top Rural Hospitals in the country, and follows the Pathway to Excellence recognition that we earned earlier this year,” said Rumford Hospital President and CEO David Frum. “These honors, as well as Rumford Hospital’s status as the lowest cost hospital in Maine, result from the combined efforts of physicians, nurses and support staff, who are working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Survey assesses hospital performance based on national performance measures, including the National Quality Forum Safe Practices. These measures and practices cover a broad spectrum of hospital services and infrastructure, and help hospitals benchmark their progress in improving safety, quality, and efficiency of care delivery.

“The Leapfrog Top Hospital distinction is by far the most competitive award a hospital can receive.  Leapfrog holds hospitals to the highest standards on behalf of our purchaser members and their employees. By achieving the Top Hospital accolade, Central Maine Medical Center and Rumford Hospital demonstrated exemplary performance across all areas of quality and patient safety that are analyzed on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. They consistently provide safe, high quality care, and I would be comfortable sending my family to them for care,” said Leah Binder, president and chief executive officer of The Leapfrog Group.

The release of the Leapfrogs Groups annual list of Top Hospitals came at the organization’s annual meeting in Baltimore, which included a conference on the importance of transparency as the key to improved hospital safety.

The selection of Central Maine Medical Center and Rumford Hospital as Top Hospitals 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 (http://www.leapfroggroup.org/cp) open to patients and families, the public, employers, and other purchasers of healthcare.