This year's top urban hospitals are located in 13 states - Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.

The hospitals are:

• Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix;
• California Pacific Medical Center - Davies Campus, San Francisco;
• California Pacific Medical Center - California Campus; San Francisco;
• California Pacific Medical Center - Pacific Campus; San Francisco;
• Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center; Anaheim,Calif.;
• Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center, Baldwin Park Calif.;
• Kaiser Permanente Bellflower/Downey Medical Center, Bellflower Calif.;
• Kaiser Permanente Hayward Hospital, Hayward, Calif;
• Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Hospital, Sacramento, Calif.:
• Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Hospital, Sacramento Calif:
• Stanford Hospital and Clinics; Stanford, Calif.:
• University of California Davis Medical Center; Sacramento, Calif.
• NorthShore University HealthSystem's Highland Park Hospital; Highland Park Ill.
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago;
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago;
• University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore;
• Baystate Medical Center, Springfield Mass.;
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston;
• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston;
• North Shore Medical Center - Union Hospital, Lynn, Mass.;
• Norwood Hospital, Norwood, Mass.:
• Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit;
• Harper-Hutzel Hospital, Detroit;
• Mayo Clinic - Methodist Hospital, Rochester Minn.;
• Mayo Clinic Saint Mary's, Rochester, Minn.;
• Regions Hospital, Saint Paul, Minn.;
• The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood N.J.;
• University Medical Center at Princeton; Princeton, N.J.;
• James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio;
• The Ohio State University Hospital, Columbus, Ohio;
• Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pa.:
• Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Greenville S.C.;
• Vanderbilt University Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.; and
• Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle.

Top pediatric hospitals in 2009 achieved a quality score of 95 or better through Leapfrog's Hospital Recognition Program and are located in California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

The hospitals are:

• Childrens Hospital Los Angeles;
• Children's Hospital of Orange County; Orange Calif.;
• Children's National Medical Center; Washington D.C.;
• Children's Hospital Boston;
• Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis;
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati;
• Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC; Pittsburgh Pa.; and
• The Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt; Nashville Tenn.

Top rural hospitals are:

• Polk Medical Center, Cedartown, Ga.;
• Stephens Memorial Hospital; Norway, Maine; and
• Waldo County General Hospital, Belfast, Maine.

The Leapfrog Group uses the collective leverage of large purchasers of healthcare to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans. The Leapfrog Group was founded in 2000 by the Business Roundtable, and is now independently operated with support from its members.

The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the gold standard for comparing hospitals' performance on the national standards of safety, quality and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care, according to Binder. Hospitals that participate in The Leapfrog Hospital Survey achieve hospital-wide improvements that translate into millions of lives and dollars saved. Leapfrog's purchaser members use survey results to inform their employees and purchasing strategies. In 2009, 1206 hospitals across the country completed The Leapfrog Hospital Survey.