Our Lady of the Angels Hospital Earns National 2023 Leapfrog Top Hospital Award for Outstanding Quality and Safety
January 10, 2024
Highlighting its nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, Our Lady of the Angels Hospital was named a 2023 Top Rural Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. Widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive, the Top Hospital designation is bestowed by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization known as the toughest standard-setters for healthcare safety and quality.
“This is the second time we’ve earned this recognition,” said Ralph Serpas III, RN, MSN, vice president and chief operating officer for the hospital. “It substantiates the fact that we are consistently delivering the highest quality care, right here in Washington Parish. I am incredibly proud of our team. We have something very special. Our team has an unfailing commitment to listen to our patients, meet them where they are and provide them with exceptional, personalized care. And we do that despite the barriers and challenges of a small, rural community. We are small, but we are mighty.”
Our Lady of the Angels Hospital is one of two Louisiana hospitals to earn the Top Rural Hospital distinction and only 15 in the nation. More than 2,100 hospitals were considered for the award. The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology.
“Protecting patients from preventable harm is the cornerstone of The Leapfrog Group’s mission,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Our Lady of the Angels Hospital has demonstrated that patient safety is their top priority, and we’re truly pleased to recognize them as a Top Hospital this year. Congratulations to hospital staff at all levels who made this national recognition possible.”
To qualify for the distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety and achieve top performance in their category. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2023 Top Hospitals, visit leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.
About Our Lady of the Angels Health
Our Lady of the Angels Health in Bogalusa, Louisiana, has a team of more than 500 employees committed to building a healthier community through excellence in patient care and community education. With a full-service acute care hospital, more than a dozen primary and specialty clinics, extended primary care and pediatric hours, and a team of more than 300 credentialed providers, Our Lady of the Angels provides comprehensive Catholic healthcare services for the people of Washington Parish and the surrounding areas. Our Lady of the Angels is a teaching site for graduate medical education, in partnership with LSU Health—operating the only rurally located rural family medicine residency program in Louisiana and one of only 55 in the nation. Our Lady of the Angels is part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System and is driven by its mission to serve all of God’s people, especially those most in need. For more information, visit www.oloah.org.