Mar 20, 2014

Champions of Nursing: The Leapfrog Group

The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is proud to have the support of The Leapfrog Group and its president and chief executive officer, Leah Binder. Based in Washington, D.C., The Leapfrog Group is a national organization representing employer purchasers of health care demanding improvements in the quality and safety of the nation’s hospitals. It was founded in 2000 with the goal of reducing preventable medical mistakes.The Leapfrog Group, A Champion of Nursing logo

The Leapfrog Group is a “Champion of Nursing” for several reasons. It is a vocal supporter of the vital role of nurse leaders in achieving and maintaining safety standards in our nation’s hospitals. In recognition of a growing body of studies highlighting the key role nurses play in patient safety, in 2011 The Leapfrog Group began publicly reporting on hospitals that have demonstrated nursing excellence on its annual hospital survey. The group’s leadership also has appointed several nurses to its own board.

Binder, who was named to Modern Healthcare’s 2013 list of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare as well as Modern Healthcare’s 2013 list of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare, often speaks publicly about the critical role of nurses, particularly as it relates to patient safety. She has discussed the importance of team-based care and called for the removal of barriers that prevent nurse practitioners from practicing to the full extent of their education and training in the Wall Street Journal and blogged about patient safety in hospitals for the Huffington Post and Forbes.

“The Leapfrog Group knows how important nurses are to patient safety and providing quality health care,” Binder said. “We are proud to support the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action in its efforts to implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report on the future of nursing.”

The organization encourages hospitals to support the development of nurse leaders to achieve and maintain hospital safety standards and to hire more highly educated nurses, a key goal of the Campaign for Action. The Leapfrog Group is also a member of the Campaign’s Champion Nursing Coalition, a diverse group of business, health care, and consumer organizations that support the Campaign’s efforts to transform health care through nursing in myriad ways.

The Campaign is proud to have the support of The Leapfrog Group and appreciates its recognition that high-quality health care requires high-quality nurse-delivered care. To learn more about how the Campaign is working to transform health care through nursing and how you can get involved, visit our website.

This story appeared in the March 2014 issue of Advancing Health: News from the Campaign for Action.