MDNews - Central New York

ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTH NAMED TOP HOSPITAL St. Joseph's Health was named a 2019 Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. The Top Hospital award recognizes the highest quality hospitals as identified through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Less than 6% of all eligible facilities receive this elite award. Of the three New York hospi - tals to be recognized, St. Joseph's Health Hospital is the only one to be honored in the Top Teaching Hospital category. All hospitals considered for any Top Hospital Award must rank in the top 10% of all hospitals for their overall Value Score, which is a weighted, composite score of the most important national patient safety, quality and resource-use standards as assessed through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. "Our commitment to care starts with the next generation of physi - cians whom we train at St. Joseph's Family Medicine Residency program and those nurses who come through our College of Nursing," says Leslie Paul Luke, President and CEO at St. Joseph's Health. "This award affirms our commitment to deliver the best possible care to our patients, as well as our efforts to improve and grow as a top healthcare provider in the region." St. Joseph's Health is also the only hospital in Central New York to be awarded an "A" from The Leapfrog Group's Safety Grade last fall. The Safety Grade system assigns an "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in prevent - ing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for healthcare purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care. Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute- care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade's methodol - ogy is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. A teaching hospital is a hospital engaged in an approved GME resi- dency program in medicine, osteopathy, dentistry or podiatry. Award recipients were announced at Leapfrog Group's Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. About St. Joseph's Health St. Joseph's Health is a regional nonprofit healthcare system based in Syracuse, New York. St. Joseph's has been an innovative leader in health care since its founding in 1869 as the first hospital open to the public in Syracuse. Offering primary, specialty and home care, a Magnet-recognized hospital, and collaboration with com - munity partners, St. Joseph's Health advances the well-being of the communities we serve through an expanding range of services to ensure our patients achieve optimum long-term health. St. Joseph's is ranked by Consumer Reports among the top 15 heart surgery centers in the country, a designated Stroke Center and a U.S. News & World Report "Best Regional Hospital." St. Joseph's Health is affiliated with Franciscan Companies and St. Joseph's Physicians, and is a member of Trinity Health. St. Joseph's Health celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2019. For more information on the founding Sisters of St. Francis, including Saint Marianne Cope, our legacy and our innovations, visit sjhsyr.org/legacy. About The Leapfrog Group Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospi - tals based on their records of patient safety, which helps consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. SHERI RODRIGUEZ JOINS ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTH AS DIRECTOR OF PAYER STRATEGIES St. Joseph's Health welcomes Sheri Rodriguez as its new Director of Payer Strategies. In her role, Rodriguez is responsible for payer relations, managed care contracts and developing strategies focused on managed-care payers. She reports to Chief Financial Officer Meredith Price. Prior to joining St. Joseph's Health, Rodriguez served as Director of Behavioral Health contracts and operations at Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago. While there, Rodriguez oversaw clinical teams that support managed care, provider network contracts and population health initiatives. Rodriguez also developed actionable business strate - gies to increase revenue. Before that, Rodriguez worked as a Project Manager at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. She worked closely with senior leadership to manage several clinically integrated network and ACO projects. Rodriguez earned a master's degree in liberal arts from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in marketing from Columbia College Chicago, Illinois. She also holds a project manage - ment strategy certificate from the University of Chicago. n M E D I C A L B R I E F S 2 2❱❱❱❱❱ M E D I C A L B R I E F S

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