The Leapfrog Group's top hospitals list includes 24 rural hospitals, 6 in Maine

The Leapfrog Group has selected 24 rural hospitals—including six from Maine—for its list of 2015 Top Hospitals, "a coveted list of hospitals that performed at the highest levels, nationally, based on Leapfrog’s quality and safety standards, considered the most rigorous of its kind," states a press release from Leapfrog. "More than 1600 hospitals report on those standards through the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, and the results are publicly reported for use by Leapfrog’s constituency of employers and other purchasers, as well as their employees and the public at large." Of those, 98 were selected for this year's list.

"Overall, Top Hospitals tend to have lower infection rates, higher survival rates for high-risk procedures, decreased length of stay and fewer readmissions," states the release. "Among other metrics included in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey that Top Hospitals tend to excel on: maternity care, evidence of a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors and appropriate staffing to ensure quality of care."

"The Leapfrog Hospital Survey compares hospitals’ performance on national standards of patient safety, quality, efficiency and management structures that prevent errors and publicly reports the results for use by consumers and purchasers," states the release. "The Survey provides the most comprehensive picture of how patients fare at individual institutions. The data collected also enables hospitals to benchmark their progress and measure the care they deliver."

Top Rural Hospitals 2015:

• Colorado: Mercy Regional Medical Center; St. Anthony Summit Medical Center; Sterling Regional MedCenter
• Illinois: OSF Holy Family Medical Center
• Massachusetts: Fairview Hospital
• Maine: Blue Hill Memorial Hospital; Cary Medical Center; Houlton Regional Hospital; Inland Hospital; LincolnHealth; Sebasticook Valley Health
• Michigan : OSF St. Francis Hospital; Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial; Spectrum Health Reed City Hospital
• North Carolina: Carolinas Healthcare System- Kings Mountain; Northern Hospital of Surry County
• New Hampshire: Littleton Regional Healthcare
• Pennsylvania: Geisinger Medical Center
• South Carolina: Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital
• Tennessee: Bolivar General Hospital; Camden General Hospital
• Texas: Baylor Scott and White Healthcare-Llano; Rollins Brook Community Hospital
• Wisconsin: Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc.