Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest and St. Luke’s University-Bethlehem rank in the top four teaching hospitals and children’s hospitals in Pennsylvania, according to The Leapfrog Group.

The Leapfrog Group is a national watchdog organization of employers and purchasers focused on health care safety and quality.

The Top Teaching Hospital designation is given to the highest performing hospitals on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. About 2,100 hospitals were considered for the award. This year, 56 teaching hospitals received the honor, including four Pennsylvania hospitals.

Lancaster General Hospital ranked first, followed by LVH-Cedar Crest, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and St. Luke’s University Hospital-Bethlehem Campus. These four hospitals were also named as the Top Children’s Hospital.

Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the Top Teaching Hospital 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.

In addition to these two categories, Top Hospital awards are also given in the categories of General Hospitals and Rural Hospitals.