NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Hospitals Earn A’s in Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades

Elmhurst Hospital Maintains Straight-A Streak

Evanston – Nov. 6, 2023 – Six of NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health’s (NS-EEH) seven eligible hospitals have received an A in the Fall 2023 Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog that sets standards for excellence in patient care: Edward Hospital (Naperville), Elmhurst Hospital, NorthShore Evanston Hospital, NorthShore Glenbrook Hospital, NorthShore Highland Park Hospital and Northwest Community Hospital (Arlington Heights). Swedish Hospital (Chicago) earned a B.

With its A, Elmhurst Hospital maintains its straight-A streak and is one of only 18 hospitals in the nation and three in Illinois to have received an A in all 24 of Leapfrog’s grading cycles since the Grades began in spring 2012.

“The Leapfrog grades are a point of pride for our team members and affirm our dedication and commitment to a high level of clinical consistency and patient safety,” says Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, NS-EEH. “This recognition reinforces our commitment to safe, seamless and personal. Every person, every time.”

“We are excited and proud to extend our straight-A streak,” says Kimberley Darey, MD, CPE, FACOG, President, Elmhurst Hospital. “It’s a testament to the professionalism of our nurses, physicians, staff and clinical leaders that they’ve been able to maintain this level of safety year after year.”

Leapfrog assigns A, B, C, D or F grades to 3,000 general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

Leapfrog, the only hospital ratings program exclusively based on hospital prevention of medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day nationally, is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually in the fall and spring.

The A grades are the most recent examples of honors, awards and rankings for NS-EEH, which also includes Skokie Hospital, a nationally ranked orthopaedic hospital and Illinois’ only specialty hospital for orthopaedic and spine patients.

• NorthShore University HealthSystem (Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie Hospitals), Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital earned five stars in the 2023 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings.
• In 2023, U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey ranked NorthShore among the top 50 hospitals in the country in four categories – #13 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, #40 in Orthopedics, #42 in Neurology & Neurosurgery and #48 in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery.
• Three NS-EEH hospitals – Elmhurst Hospital, Evanston Hospital and Highland Park Hospital – were recognized as top performers in the Vizient, Inc. 2023 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Ranking. 
• In 2023, for the sixth time, Edward Hospital was named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. Fortune/PINC AI (Premier, Inc. AI) ranked Edward #14 in the Large Community Hospitals category.
• Elmhurst Hospital was named to the Becker’s Hospital Review list of “153 great community hospitals | 2023.”
• In 2023, Elmhurst Hospital once again was awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International. Elmhurst Hospital is one of only 97 healthcare organizations worldwide, 22 in the U.S. and the only one in Illinois to earn Gold Certification.

To see full grade details for NS-EEH’s hospitals, visit www.HospitalSafetyGrade.org. To learn more about patient safety and quality of care at NS-EEH’s hospitals, visit NorthShore.org, SwedishCovenant.org, NCH.org and EEHealth.org.