The Leapfrog Group has named four MaineHealth hospitals – LincolnHealth, Pen Bay Medical Center (PBMC), Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) and Stephens Memorial Hospital – as Top Rural Hospitals 2020. Leapfrog’s Top Rural Hospital Awards recognize achievements in patient safety and quality.

“This award recognizes the commitment of everyone in our rural hospitals to deliver outstanding patient-centered health care every day,” said Mark Fourre, MD, president of PBMC and WCGH, in a news release. “What’s
so impressive is that our care team members continue to do so even as we navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I also think that this award showcases the power of being a member of the MaineHealth system,” Fourre. “Sharing best practices with each other made it possible for all four hospitals to win this award, and it contributes to our collective ability to deliver high-quality health care across our state.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national quality evaluator, considered more than 2,200 hospitals from across the country for a Top Hospital Award. Of them, 105 were selected as Top Hospitals. The Top Rural Hospital Award went to just 19 hospitals, meaning MaineHealth hospitals make up more than 1/5 of the rural hospitals that were chosen nationwide for the award.

“These recognitions by The Leapfrog Group are a reflection of MaineHealth’s commitment to high-quality, safe, patient-centered care,” said MaineHealth Chief Medical Officer Joan Boomsma, MD. “MaineHealth is proud to put safety first.”

The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the Top Rural Hospital Award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors. The standards are defined in each year’s Leapfrog Top Hospital Methodology.

“The Top Hospitals designation is Leapfrog's most competitive and elite national award, and four MaineHealth hospitals earned Top Rural Hospital designations,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This is an extraordinary feat in any year, but even more so in 2020 as hospitals have navigated the unprecedented pressure and strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Maine native, it means a great deal to me that my family and friends can depend on excellence from so many Maine hospitals. I personally congratulate the board, staff and clinicians whose efforts made this honor possible.”

To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety, and achieve top performance in their category. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2020 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About MaineHealth

MaineHealth is a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of eight local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,500 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With close to 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information, they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.