Written by Gary Bell, CEO Lehigh Regional Medical Center
Gary Bell – CEOThe data used by Leapfrog in determining this grade mostly dates back to a time when Lehigh Regional Medical Center was financially struggling under previous ownership. Lehigh Regional Medical Center has instituted several measures to address the issues identified in Leapfrog’s report, including implementing a robust Electronic Medical Record system with EPIC and completing a culture of safety survey. Several areas have improved since the data was reported, including hospital acquired conditions, complications and patient safety indicators. Now, under the new ownership of Prime Healthcare, Lehigh Regional will have the resources to achieve an entirely new level of intense focus on patient quality and safety. Prime Healthcare brings extensive resources to Lehigh Regional that the hospital just didn’t have before, including the sharing of best practices with other Prime hospitals nationally. Prime also has a stringent internal quality reporting matrix and each hospital is held accountable to those standards. Achieving an A rating is what we strive for. It’s what all patients deserve. We are confident that Lehigh Regional will show marked improvement in Leapfrog’s next report cycle.
