At Virginia Mason Medical Center, our vision to be the Quality Leader in health care is achieved by successfully implementing strategic initiatives in Innovation, People, Quality and Service. The implementation of these initiatives is made by adopting best practices as standard work and by improving systems via the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS), which uses Lean principles pioneered by Toyota. Our work is fundamentally transforming the way health care is provided at VM.

Established in 1920, Virginia Mason began as an 80-bed hospital with six physician offices. The founders' vision was to provide a single place where patients could receive comprehensive medical care, a "one-stop shopping" place for virtually any medical problem or need. Virginia Mason Medical Center is a private, non-profit organization offering a system of integrated health services. Gary S. Kaplan, M.D., serves as chairman and CEO. The medical center includes:

a large, multi-specialty group practice of more than 390 physicians, offering both primary and specialized care;

a regional network of neighborhood clinics including sports and occupational medicine facilities;

an acute care hospital licensed for 336 beds;

an internationally recognized research institute;

an active philanthropic foundation;

Bailey-Boushay House, a nursing residence and day health center for people living with AIDS.

Our vision is to be the quality leader - Our aspiration is not to be the biggest, but to be the best. We will differentiate ourselves on the basis of quality.

Our mission is to improve the health and well being of the patients we serve - Healing illness is our first priority and is what gives our people the energy for our vision. We are also committed to providing a broad range of services that improve one's sense of well-being and which prevent illness.

Virginia Mason Medical Center offers a competitive benefits package to eligible employees. Benefit eligibility requirements vary.

VM Named Top Hospital by Leapfrog Group

SEATTLE - Virginia Mason Medical Center is one of 26 hospitals and seven children's hospitals named 2008 Top Hospitals in the nation by The Leapfrog Group. Virginia Mason was the only hospital in Washington state to be listed. The award is based on the results of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the nation's premier hospital evaluation tool. The survey provides consumers and health-care purchasers with up-to-date assessments of 1,220 participating hospitals' quality and safety programs and outcomes. (There are more than 5,000 hospitals in the United States.)
Virginia Mason and the other 2008 Top Hospitals fully met the standards for four crucial areas, or "leaps":

Preventing medication errors by implementing computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems and carefully testing the CPOE systems with Leapfrog tools;

Achieving stringent performance standards for at least one of the complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital;

Meeting the intensive care unit (ICU) staffing standard;

Meeting or demonstrating "substantial progress" on 13 additional nationally recognized safe practices, such as preventing pneumonia or bloodstream infections.
"This is a great honor and well-deserved recognition for the outstanding work being done by our staff," says Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Virginia Mason's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The Leapfrog Group Survey uses a strict and valid methodology that produces meaningful results. The Top Hospitals are truly committed to quality and safety for their patients."
The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America's health industry that big leaps in health-care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. Among other initiatives, Leapfrog works with its employer members to encourage transparency and easy access to health-care information, as well as rewards for hospitals that have a proven record of high-quality care.

Virginia Mason Medical Center,
PO Box 900 G3-HR
Seattle, WA 98111
Human Resources (206) 223-6757