WASHINGTON – Executives of hospitals included in The Leapfrog Group’s list of 45 best hospitals say their staffs keep the focus on quality every day.

The Washington-based watchdog group released its annual list of top hospitals last month, adding a new efficiency standard to its quality criteria. It also introduced a category for top rural hospitals.

The list results from The Leapfrog Hospital Survey. More than 1,200 hospitals across the country responded. The survey compares hospitals on key factors including mortality rates for certain common procedures, infection rates, safety practices and measures of efficiency.

“This award is the result of hard work and dedication by our entire staff, and a deep commitment to bringing top quality care to all of our patients,” said Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, president and CEO of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. “Safety, efficiency and results have been the cornerstones of Children’s success from the beginning.”

Information technology underpins most of the quality criteria measured by Leapfrog.

“This year’s class of top hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication error prevention and preventing ICU deaths, but they also use their resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients,” said Leah Binder, Leapfrog’s CEO.

“It’s a powerful testament to the skill and compassion of our staff in caring for our patients, and to the emphasis we place on putting our patients first in everything we do,” said Warren Browner, MD, CEO of California Pacific Medical Center.

“These results demonstrate that Rush is a medical center that is dedicated to the highest standards of quality and patient safety and makes it the focus of everything we do,” said Larry Goodman, MD, president and CEO of Rush University Medical Center, which includes a 671-bed hospital and the 61-bed Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University.