The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) on Tuesday recognized the Pennsylvania hospitals that have achieved exemplary results preventing infections – and St. Luke’s had more hospitals on the list than any other health system in the state.

Of the 22 hospitals honored for their patient safety, five are St. Luke’s.

HAP identifies top-performing hospitals using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network. To be recognized, hospitals must perform better than the mean standardized infection ratio in three key measures: central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and occurrences of clostridioides difficile.

“There can be only one #1, and by these objective measures, it is St. Luke’s,” said St. Luke’s Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol. “Kudos to our doctors, nurses and other caregivers who have achieved these remarkable results through their unwavering commitment to highest safety standards.”

HAP announced the 2024 Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition recipients Tuesday during its Patient Safety, Quality, and Equity Symposium in Harrisburg. They five St. Luke’s hospitals are:

• St. Luke’s Allentown Campus
• St. Luke’s Anderson Campus
• St. Luke’s Carbon Campus
• St. Luke’s Monroe Campus
• St. Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem Campus

Additionally, this is the sixth consecutive year that St. Luke’s University Hospital’s Bethlehem Campus has been honored through the Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition program. The Bethlehem Campus is the only hospital in the state to earn this important designation every year that HAP has awarded it. The hospital’s team received special recognition at the symposium.

“Delivering high-quality and safe care to their communities is hospitals’ top priority,” HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said. “HAP is proud to recognize the Pennsylvania hospital teams that have achieved outstanding results from their commitment to continuous quality and safety improvement.”

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only four-year medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke’s, a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley’s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  The Network is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest-cost providers.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Sam Kennedy