NJ hospital safety grades are in. How did yours do?

Scott Fallon, NorthJersey.com
·4 min read

After receiving low grades for patient safety during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey's hospitals have rebounded with the state leading the nation in the percentage of hospitals that received an "A," according to a report released Wednesday.

Almost 52% of New Jersey's hospitals received a top score. None received a "D" or "F" for the first time in years, according to data from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog of hospital quality.

A list of New Jersey's hospitals and their scores are below.

But like many hospitals across the nation, those in New Jersey had a spike in hospital-acquired infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Hospital acquired infections up

An executive whose nonprofit group sponsors the Leapfrog survey praised the improvement but said more work needs to be done in infection control.

“The rise in hospital-acquired infections shows us that the work of advancing patient safety requires a continued, unrelenting effort," said Linda Schwimmer, 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. "We hope to see New Jersey hospitals double down on their focused efforts to reduce hospital-acquired infections.”

Scores dropped in recent years during the pandemic when New Jersey's hospital staff were stretched incredibly thin, first in the spring of 2020 with the initial outbreak and then with subsequent variant flare-ups in the winters of 2021 and 2022.

Of the 68 hospitals that sent in safety data for the spring report, there were 35 "A" hospitals, 18 "B" hospitals and 15 "C" hospitals.

The new report shows improvement from a year ago when several hospitals — including Holy Name in Teaneck and St. Joseph's two hospitals in Paterson and Wayne — received low marks of "D." Both of those hospitals climbed to a "C."

Only 29% of hospitals nationwide received an “A” compared to New Jersey's 51.5%. New Jersey ranked 12th among the 50 states last spring before vaulting to first place this year.

Grades are in

Below is a list of 68 New Jersey hospitals along with their grade for spring 2023 followed by the grade for fall 2022 by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog of hospital quality.

  • Atlanticare Regional Medical Center — City Campus, Atlantic City: A, B

  • Atlanticare Regional Medical Center — Mainland Campus, Pomona: A, B

  • Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May: B, B

  • Capital Health Medical Center, Hopewell: A, A

  • Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton: B, B

  • CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center: C, C

  • CarePoint Health-Christ Hospital, Jersey City: B, C

  • Carepoint Health-Hoboken University Medical Center: C, C

  • CareWell Health Medical Center, East Orange: C, D

  • CentraState Medical Center, Freehold: C, C

  • Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains: A, A

  • Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville: B, B

  • Community Medical Center, Toms River: A, B

  • Cooper University Hospital, Camden: A, B

  • Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston: C, C

  • Englewood Hospital and Medical Center: A, A

  • Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel: A, A

  • HMH Hackensack University Medical Center: A, A

  • HMH JFK University Medical Center, Edison: C, B

  • HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune: A, A

  • HMH Mountainside Medical Center, Montclair: A, C

  • HMH Ocean University Medical Center, Brick: A, B

  • HMH Old Bridge Medical Center: A, A

  • HMH Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen: A, A

  • HMH Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood: B, A

  • HMH Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy: A, A

  • HMH Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank: A, A

  • HMH Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin: B, C

  • Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Hackettstown: B, B

  • Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck: C, C

  • Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus: C, A

  • Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington: A, A

  • Inspira Medical Center Elmer: A, A

  • Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill: A, A

  • Inspira Medical Center Vineland: A, A

  • Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital: B, A

  • Jefferson Stratford Hospital: A, A

  • Jefferson Washington Township Hospital: A, A

  • Jersey City Medical Center: B, B

  • Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch: A, A

  • Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Lakewood: A, B

  • Morristown Medical Center: A, A

  • Newark Beth Israel Medical Center: B, B

  • Newton Medical Center: A, B

  • Overlook Medical Center, Summit: A, A

  • Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center: A, A

  • RWJ University Hospital, New Brunswick: B, B

  • RWJ University Hospital at Hamilton: B, A

  • RWJ University Hospital Rahway: A, A

  • RWJ University Hospital Somerset: B, B

  • Saint Clare's Hospital of Denville: B, A

  • Saint Clare's Hospital of Dover: B, C

  • Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark: A, A

  • Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick: B, A

  • Shore Medical Center, Somers Point: C, C

  • St. Francis Medical Center of Trenton: C, C

  • St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson: C, D

  • St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center: C, D

  • St. Luke's Warren Campus, Phillipsburg: A, A

  • St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic: A, A

  • The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood: A, A

  • Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth: C, C

  • University Hospital, Newark: C, C

  • Virtua Marlton Hospital: A, A

  • Virtua Mount Holly Hospital: B, B

  • Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden: C, C

  • Virtua Voorhees Hospital: A, B

  • Virtua Willingboro Hospital: B, B

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ hospital safety grades rebound after COVID pandemic