Patient Safety and Quality are at the Highest Levels Measured

Browns Mills, New Jersey – December 7, 2023 – Deborah Heart and Lung Center was named a 2023 Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. The national Award recognizes outstanding patient safety and quality.

“Our clinical teams, including residents and fellows who are training on our campus, work tirelessly everyday to ensure our patients’ safety and quality of care,” said Deborah Medical Director Aaron Kugelmass, MD. “We appreciate their unwavering focus on our patients. This recognition affirms their hard work and diligence.”

The Leapfrog Top Hospitals awards program is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Leapfrog Group is a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers known as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.

Deborah President and CEO Joseph Chirichella said, “Leapfrog’s Top Teaching Hospital Award demonstrates the importance we put on patient safety and quality in our health system every day. We are being recognized for our top performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety.”

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 for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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 hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

Deborah Heart and Lung Center

Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey is a teaching hospital in the prevention, diagnosis, research and treatment of heart, lung and vascular diseases. Founded in 1922, Deborah has treated more than 2.3 million hearts from every corner of the United States and 87 countries. From performing the first adult and pediatric open-heart surgeries in NJ, to one of the highest-volume left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) implant programs in the nation, Deborah is consistently recognized as a leader overall and in patient care from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS,) is ranked among the top hospitals in NJ for patient satisfaction; holds a top-tier Society of Thoracic Surgeons rating which places Deborah among the best cardiac surgery programs in North America; and is rated High Performing in five specialties, Heart Attack, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, COPD and TAVR by U.S. News & World Report. Deborah is an Alliance member of the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.