St. Luke’s University Health Network has been named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by Modern Healthcare and Premier Inc., earning recognition for clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience.
According to the organizations, St. Luke’s was ranked the No. 1 medium-sized health system in the United States and was the only Pennsylvania-based health system included among the top 15 nationwide.
The annual study evaluated 336 health systems using publicly available data and measured performance in areas including inpatient mortality, healthcare-associated infections, length of hospital stay and overall episode-of-care costs.
“This recognition is a credit to the dedication, professionalism and talent of St. Luke’s 23,000-plus employees,” said St. Luke’s Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol. “It provides further affirmation of St. Luke’s remarkable achievement in standardizing excellence in care and service throughout 16 hospital campuses and hundreds of outpatient locations.”
According to Premier, top-performing health systems in this year’s study had 22.3% lower inpatient mortality rates and significantly fewer healthcare-associated infections compared with peer systems.
The designation adds to several recent national recognitions received by St. Luke’s. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked the network among the nation’s top health systems for quality, safety and patient experience.
Earlier this month, the Leapfrog Group awarded “A” safety grades to every eligible legacy St. Luke’s acute care hospital.
St. Luke’s also remains the only health network in the greater Lehigh Valley region recognized on Modern Healthcare and Premier’s 100 Top Hospitals list for 12 consecutive years and 14 years overall, according to the organization.
“Achieving Premier’s 15 Top Health Systems® designation is a meaningful accomplishment that reflects a health system’s commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care,” said David Zito, president of Performance Services at Premier. “This recognition highlights St. Luke’s University Health Network’s focus on improving outcomes, strengthening operations and advancing the overall patient experience.”
