Leaders in Caring for People Living with Diabetes

Six Pennsylvania Hospitals Recognized by the American Diabetes Association and The Leapfrog Group 

Leapfrog Group’s Elite Award Recognizes Excellence in Quality & Safety

The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) and The Leapfrog Group announced the first hospitals to receive national designation as Recognized Leaders in Caring for People Living with Diabetes. The designation reflects a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of hospitalized people living with diabetes. An estimated 30% of hospitalized people are living with diabetes, and more than 200,000 hospitalized people die every year from preventable safety problems.

 

Pennsylvania’s recipients are Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest, and Lehigh Valley Hospital – Muhlenberg. Of 17 hospitals nationwide to receive the recognition, six hospitals, or more than 35% of recipients, are located locally in Pennsylvania.

 

Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH) is a Leapfrog Regional Leader, working with providers, purchasers, payors and patients in Pennsylvania to drive safe, high-quality health care.

 

“This recognition provides critical patient safety information to individuals living with diabetes,” said Carl Seitz, President, LVBCH. “On behalf of our members and our community we are committed to collaborating with local hospitals to ensure patients in Pennsylvania are receiving the safest possible care. We are proud of our local hospitals that have been recognized.”

 

“These hospitals are leading the nation in dedication to people with diabetes. Safe, effective, patient-centered care from hospital admission through a patient’s return home lowers risks of serious health complications and improves outcomes for people living with diabetes,” said Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, the ADA’s chief scientific and medical officer.

 

“Whatever their reason for admission, hospitalized patients who are living with diabetes are at heightened risk from the preventable errors and accidents that are a problem for all patients in American hospitals,” said Leah Binder, MA, MGA, president & CEO of The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog for patient safety. “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our first 17 recognized hospitals who are pioneering what we hope is a tidal wave of change in hospitals’ approach to patient safety for people living with diabetes.”

 

The first-of-its-kind designation program evaluates hospitals based on their care for patients with diabetes during admission, stay and discharge. The program operationalizes the ADA’s globally recognized guidelines for the treatment of patients with diabetes, the Standards of Care in Diabetes—2024, along with Leapfrog standards for excellence in hospital safety and quality. The program aims to counter the heightened safety risks faced by approximately 8 million people living with diabetes who are hospitalized each year.

 

One in four people admitted to a hospital suffer some form of unintended harm, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General. Hospitalized people living with diabetes face heightened safety risks including amputation and other complications such as coma and death if mistakes are made in their daily care. Black and Indigenous people, as well as Latinos, are 30% more likely to undergo amputation than non-Hispanic white Americans.

 

Recognized hospitals provide safe, high-quality care for people living with diabetes, by implementing blood glucose (blood sugar) testing and hypoglycemia protocols, specialized preparation for inpatient surgery, meals and insulin regimen planning, robust discharge planning for high-risk patients with diabetes, among others.

 

Hospitals earning the Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes designation include:

  • California: Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
  • New Jersey: AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center—Atlantic City Campus, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center—Mainland Campus, Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center
  • New York: Glen Cove Hospital
  • Ohio: Licking Memorial Hospital, The Christ Hospital
  • Pennsylvania: Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital—Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital—Muhlenberg
  • Texas: Midland Memorial Hospital, Texas Health Huguley Hospital, Titus County Hospital District dba Titus Regional Medical Center
  • Washington: EvergreenHealth

 

About The Leapfrog Group 

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization celebrating 25 years of driving a movement for giant leaps for patient safety. Among its initiatives, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was launched in 2012 and assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. It is fully transparent and free to the public, and grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring. To look up your hospital’s Safety Grade, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org. For more information from Leapfrog, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.