St. Luke\u2019s is running with the big dogs. And when it comes to patient safety and health care excellence, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network isn\u2019t just keeping up\u2014it\u2019s leading the pack.<\/p>\n
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has recognized St. Luke\u2019s alongside national heavyweights Houston Methodist and the Mayo Clinic as the nation\u2019s three high performing health systems for safety and quality\u2014further affirmation of St. Luke\u2019s status as a top leader among the largest and best-known health care providers in the country.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s selection\u2014like that of Houston Methodist and the Mayo Clinic\u2014was based on publicly available Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) safety outcome measures and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System survey data. The three high performing health systems were identified from a review of 4,791 U.S. hospitals and 135\u00a0healthcare systems containing at least six hospitals.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s was found to be one of three health care systems in the country with more than one hospital demonstrating safety and patient experience performance better than 75 percent above the national average.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the simple take-away: If you want to receive the safest care when you go to the hospital, come to St. Luke\u2019s,\u201d St. Luke\u2019s Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol said.<\/p>\n
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was created when Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the\u00a0Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999. To better understand what differentiates St. Luke\u2019s, the Mayo Clinic and Houston Methodist from other health systems, AHRQ and its contractors (Ripple Effect and the American Institutes for Research) conducted onsite best practices review visits to two hospitals in each system, observing a clinically complex patient mix from urban, suburban, and rural areas.<\/p>\n
The insights gleaned from these visits formed the foundation for\u00a0The Best Practices to Strengthen Safety Culture, Leadership, and Governance\u00a0<\/em>report, whose findings were shared publicly for the first time on Monday, Sept. 22, during a webinar. The goal is to shape a national \u201cchange package\u201d of best practices in safety culture, leadership and governance that other health systems can follow.<\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s Bethlehem Campus and St. Luke\u2019s Miners Campus received onsite visits. In the debriefing session that followed, the reviewers noted St. Luke\u2019s unwavering commitment to patient-centered care\u2014from department chairs to maintenance staff. The \u201cspeak up\u201d culture and \u201cwe fix things\u201d mindset, empowering employees at every level to voice concerns and drive improvements, were cited as major strengths.<\/p>\n Evaluators also praised St. Luke\u2019s purpose-driven leadership pipeline, noting how the organization is cultivating the next generation of leaders to build on today\u2019s success. Hiring for soft skills\u2014like empathy, communication and bedside manner\u2014was highlighted as a key ingredient in St. Luke\u2019s recipe for excellence.<\/p>\n AHRQ\u2019s selection of St. Luke\u2019s as one of its three exemplary high performing systems nationwide builds upon the Network\u2019s record as one of the safest health systems in the country. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded 10 St. Luke\u2019s hospitals five stars, the highest possible rating. All 11 eligible hospitals also earned A grades from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, the only rating focused solely on preventing errors, injuries, and infections.<\/p>\n \u201cSt. Luke\u2019s achieves superior quality and safety results because of the commitment to excellence of our outstanding medical staff and employees,\u201d Sabol said. \u201cStraight A\u2019s and five stars\u2014St. Luke\u2019s is one of the few large health systems in the nation ever to receive across-the-board high marks from both CMS and Leapfrog.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, this year St. Luke\u2019s was again named to Premier\u2019s 2025 PINC AI 100 Top Hospitals list published by Fortune magazine. It was the 11th time in a row and the 13th time overall that St. Luke\u2019s hospitals have been recognized among the 100 Top Hospitals in the United States. St. Luke\u2019s is the only health network in the greater Lehigh Valley region to ever earn this distinction.<\/p>\n \u201cThese objective measurements reflect the fact that safety is baked into St. Luke\u2019s culture,” Sabol said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n The Network\u2019s 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\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only 4-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 50+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 500+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. In 2025, the Network earned straight A\u2019s from Leapfrog across all of its 11 acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 11 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multiyear recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling, and online pricing information.<\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: St. Luke\u2019s is running with the big dogs. And when it comes to patient safety and health care excellence, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network isn\u2019t just keeping up\u2014it\u2019s leading the … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s Identified as an Exemplar in Safety by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"