Lehigh Valley Health Network

Facilities receive ‘A’ grade from Leapfrog

Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono each received an ‘A’ grade on the Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group for spring 2018. The ratings, released April 24, reflect how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections. The Safety Score is designed to give the public information that is useful for choosing a hospital for care.

The HSG uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to approximately 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

For more information, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

Friends of Nursing awards presented

DUring the 2018 Lehigh Valley Health Network Friends of Nursing awards program, held May 3 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, several local nurses were honored as professionals in patient care.

The recipients and their LVHN positions are Colleen Bolks, Registered Nurse, Emergency Department - Cedar Crest, Edward and Anne Davis Award for Excellence as a Nurse Preceptor; Dana Zindell of Bethlehem, Perioperative Float Pool, Edward and Anne Davis Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing; Lisa Forstburg, R.N., Open Heart Unit–Cedar Crest, The Fleming Nursing Caring Award; April Gheller, R.N., Infusion Center, Health Center at Bangor, Advanced Practice Clinician Award; Louise Hunter, R.N., Hospice, The Dr. Fred Fister Award for Excellence in Hospice Nursing and Jennifer Mulligan, R.N., Intensive Care Unit – Muhlenberg, Award for Excellence in Critical Care Nursing.

Among other awardees: Dr. Richard Kolesky of Bethlehem, Allentown Anesthesia Associates, Professional Excellence Council physician; April Meyers of Hellertown, Cedar Crest– 6Kasych, Medical Staff Administrative Partner Award; Nicole Grossmann – Infusion Center, Muhlenberg; The Cancer Institute Leadership Council Excellence in Cancer Care Award; Marsha Kvacky – Cardiovascular Recovery Holding Area, Muhlenberg, Excellence in Cardiovascular Nursing; Jaclyn Goffredo – Float Pool, Muhlenberg, Joseph and Judith Kaminski Award for Excellence as a Float Nurse; and Jennifer Mulligan – ICU, Muhlenberg, Award for Excellence in Critical Care Nursing.

The Friends of Nursing awards program kicked off National Nurses Week 2018 at LVHN. For more than 30 years, Lehigh Valley Health Network has recognized outstanding professional nursing practice through the Friends of Nursing awards program.

LVH–Cedar Crest named a Becker ‘Great Hospital’

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest is listed among Becker’s Healthcare “100 Great Hospitals in America” for 2018. The facility was recognized nationally for excellence in clinical care, patient outcomes, and staff and physician satisfaction.

LVH has advanced accreditation and certification in several specialties. Becker’s says the list also includes industry innovators that have sparked trends in healthcare technology, hospital management and patient satisfaction.

LVH–Cedar Crest is one of six hospitals in Pennsylvania and the only one in the Lehigh Valley and northeast Pennsylvania region recognized by Becker’s.