Hospital safety grades show three in Central Jersey with lower marks
Five of eight hospitals in Central Jersey received “A” marks in the semiannual safety grades issued this week by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog of hospital quality.
Only three hospitals in Central Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville and JFK University Medical Center in Edison – received less than an A.
The New Brunswick hospital was given a C while the other two received a B.
For JFK, the spring 2022 grade was an improvement from C in fall 2021.
The Somerville hospital dropped from A to B in the latest grading.
“Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is committed to its mission as a high reliability organization by seeking constant improvement and innovation regarding safety and quality, patient experience and clinical performance," said Alan Lee, senior vice president and chief operation officer, in a statement. "We are confident that our strategic plan addresses these results. We actively participate in national quality and safety rating evaluations as a part of our efforts to obtain all available data towards these goals. We are committed to providing the best possible care to the communities we serve.”
Receiving A grades were Hunterdon Medical Center, Saint Peter's University Hospital, Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway.
READ: Here are the healthiest (and least healthy) counties in New Jersey
Maintaining A grades from the previous report were Hunterdon and Saint Peter's; Raritan Bay, Old Bridge and Rahway went up from B to A.
“It’s an honor to be recognized with Leapfrog’s highest safety grade,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, in a statement. “So many individuals at Saint Peter’s are responsible for the efforts that got us to this point today. Their unwavering commitment to deliver quality medical care without compromise and under the most challenging conditions is the reason Saint Peter’s has become a destination for exemplary health care in central New Jersey.”
New Jersey is the only state in which 100% of the hospitals participate in the voluntary quality reporting system.
No New Jersey hospital received a failing grade.
Two-thirds of New Jersey's hospitals received an A or B grade, the same as the fall 2021 report. In all 30 hospitals received an A, 16 hospitals received a B, and 19 hospitals received a C.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick received the lowest mark, "limited achievement," in pediatric care focusing on communication with parents and children, experience of patients undergoing elective surgery and higher than expected surgical site infections after major colon surgery.
The ratings are based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The Leapfrog Group says they are peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. They are available at hospitalsafetygrade.org.
New Jersey ranked 12th among the 50 states, down from ninth in the most recent rankings last fall. In New Jersey, 43.5% of hospitals had an A grade, compared with 59.8% in North Carolina, the highest-ranked state. Nationwide, only 7% of hospitals received a D and fewer than 1% received an F.
"While we are concerned that some hospitals in New Jersey had safety grades that dropped, we also saw some hospitals improve their scores,” said Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a membership organization working to improve the safety, quality and affordability of health care in the state. It sponsors the Leapfrog survey and other initiatives.
“Patients in New Jersey deserve to know which hospitals are safest, so they can make an informed decision to protect themselves and their loved ones when seeking care,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
Contributing: Lindy Washburn of NorthJersey.com
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson New Brunswick, Somerset graded lower
