Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1003496
79 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY Where are the 49 Leapfrog straight-'A' hospitals? By Mackenzie Bean T he Leapfrog Group has assigned letter grades to hospitals based on their pa- tient safety performance twice annu- ally since spring 2012. Forty-nine hospitals have earned an A in every update, including the spring 2018 update released April 24. ese 49 straight-A hospitals have maintained the highest possible grade 13 consecutive times. Here is a list of the hospitals broken down by state. Arizona Mayo Clinic Hospital (Phoenix) California French Hospital Medical Center (San Luis Obispo) Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Orange Coun- ty-Anaheim Kaiser Foundation Hospital-West Los Angeles Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Santa Rosa Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center (San Luis Obispo) Twin Cities Community Hospital (Templeton) Colorado Centura Health-Porter Adventist Hospital (Denver) Rose Medical Center (Denver) Florida Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center (Daytona Beach) Memorial Hospital Miramar Georgia Gordon Hospital (Calhoun) Illinois Amita Health St. Alexius Medical Center Hoffman Estates Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (Winfield) OSF St. Joseph Medical Center (Bloomington) OSF St. Mary Medical Center (Galesburg) Rush Copley Medical Center (Aurora) Rush University Medical Center (Chicago) University of Chicago Medical Center West Suburban Medical Center (Oak Park) Louisiana Minden Medical Center Massachusetts Addison Gilbert Hospital (Gloucester) Berkshire Medical Center (Pittsfield) Beverly Hospital Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital (Boston) Cape Cod Hospital (Hyannis) Newton-Wellesley Hospital Saint Anne's Hospital (Fall River) Maine Mid Coast Hospital (Brunswick) Michigan Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital (Commerce Township) University of Michigan Health System (Ann Arbor) Minnesota St. Francis Regional Medical Center (Shako- pee) Mississippi Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle (Columbus) North Carolina Rex Hospital (Raleigh) New Jersey Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston) Ohio Dublin Methodist Hospital Grady Memorial Hospital (Delaware) St. John Medical Center (Westlake) Texas Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital St. David's Medical Center (Austin) Virginia Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (Christiansburg) Inova Loudoun Hospital (Leesburg) Sentara CarePlex Hospital (Hampton) Sentara Leigh Hospital (Norfolk) Sentara Obici Hospital (Suffolk) Sentara Princess Anne Hospital (Virginia Beach) Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center Washington Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle) n Jury awards $28M+ to 77-year-old former Cleveland Clinic physician alleging age discrimination led to firing By Alyssa Rege A Cuyahoga County (Ohio) jury awarded a 77-year-old former Cleveland Clinic physician more than $28 million April 27 following his claims the institution fired him because of his age, according to cleveland.com. Robert Katz, MD, an ear, nose and throat physician, worked at the Cleveland Clinic for almost 20 years. In 2015, Dr. Katz said the chairman of the Cleve- land Clinic Head & Neck Institute began pressuring him to retire, claiming he was "no longer a fit" for the hospital, and began steering his patients toward younger physicians, according to cleveland.com. Dr. Katz said he complained to his direct supervisor and the health system's hu- man resources department about the discriminatory behavior, but was report- edly told by hospital officials the institution would not reappoint his patients to him, the report states. During the hearing April 27, a jury awarded Dr. Katz $1.95 million in economic compensatory damages, $325,000 in emotional distress damages and $26.38 million in punitive damages. However, a judge is required to significantly re- duce the award because Ohio's tort reform laws cap the amount in punitive damages an individual may receive at twice the amount of the compensatory damages awarded, cleveland.com reports. Cleveland Clinic has 30 days to appeal the judgment. A spokesperson for the health system told Becker's Hospital Review April 30, "Cleveland Clinic does not tolerate discrimination or retaliation. We are disappointed with the jury's verdict and will review the case to determine our next steps." n