Three Lee Health Hospitals Named Top Hospitals by The Leapfrog Group

(Fort Myers, Fla. – Dec. 5, 2023) --- We are pleased to announce that Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, Gulf Coast Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital have all received top distinctions from the nation's premier advocate of transparency in healthcare, The Leapfrog Group.

Golisano Children’s Hospital was named a Top Children’s Hospital. In addition to “A” grades, Gulf Coast Medical Center also received the designation as a Top General Hospital and Lee Memorial Hospital was named a Top Teaching Hospital. 

As the region’s only children’s hospital, Golisano Children’s Hospital serves more than 45,000 patients each year in relation to more than 30 specialty pediatric services, including cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology and orthopedics. It has been recognized by The Leapfrog Group five other times as a Top Children’s Hospital.

Gulf Coast Medical Center is Southwest Florida’s Level II Trauma Center and Lee Health’s largest adult acute-care hospital campus. It also houses the neuroscience institute, orthopedic, oncology and cardiology services. Gulf Coast Medical Center was named a Top Teaching Hospital in 2019. This is the first time Gulf Coast Medical Center has been named a Top General Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. 

Lee Memorial Hospital was founded in 1916 and is the health system’s first hospital. It is currently home to a 60-bed rehabilitation hospital and an 18-bed skilled nursing unit, as well as The Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Health. This is the second time Lee Memorial Hospital has been named a Top Teaching Hospital. The first recognition was in 2020.

More than 2,100 hospitals were considered for the accolade. A total of 132 hospitals throughout the country were selected as Top Hospitals, including only eight Top Children’s Hospitals, 34 Top General Hospitals and 75 Top Teaching Hospitals.

“We are extremely proud that three of our hospitals have received Top Hospital designations. Making this list and joining the other top hospitals in the country is a testament to the kind of compassionate care patients receive at all of our facilities,” said Larry Antonucci, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Lee Health. “We are committed to providing the best patient experience possible and the safest, highest quality of care to our community. Getting top honors from this advocacy group in addition to our “straight A’s” this year shows our endless commitment to ensuring quality care in our community.” 

Qualifications for the rankings include staffing, hand hygiene, infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication and other errors. The rigorous standards are outlined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology report. 

The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization working towards improvement in the quality and safety of healthcare. The Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital 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.

To see the full list of institutions honored as 2023 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals