young boy with brown hair sitting in the grass, looking up with confetti falling.

LLUCH patient Uziah celebrates this recent accomplishment. Uziah was delivered at LLUCH July 9, 2021 and was barely over the micro preemie weight, weighing in at only 1lb 13oz. He spent 97 days with us, had two blood transfusions, but otherwise no underlying health concerns.

Loma Linda University Children's Hospital (LLUCH) has again been named a Top Children's Hospital for the sixth time in seven years by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization recognized as one of the highest healthcare safety and quality benchmarks.

"Being named a Top Children's Hospital for the sixth time is not just an award, but a reflection of our steadfast commitment to excellence in healthcare," said Peter Baker, senior vice president and administrator of LLUCH. "It's a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, who strive every day to offer the best and the safest quality care to our patients."

The Leapfrog Awards are widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. Of the more than 250 children's hospitals in the country, only eight received the prestigious accolade of a Leapfrog Top Hospital. 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.

To qualify for the Top Hospitals 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 top performance in its category. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2023 Top Hospitals, visit leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.