How safe is your NJ hospital? Grades are in for medical errors, infections and more

New Jersey's best hospitals have stumbled in the most recent patient safety scores, dropping in the past six months, at a time of staffing shortages, from first in the nation for the percentage of facilities with an "A" grade to 13th, according to a report released Monday.

While hospitals overall cut down on the number of patients getting three serious forms of hospital-acquired infections, some fell in patient surveys for doctor and nurse communication, staff responsiveness, information about medicine and discharge instructions, said The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog of hospital quality.

Adelisa Perez-Hudgins, an executive with the nonprofit New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, said the drop in "A’s" is a reminder that "quality improvement is a continuous journey that requires attention and persistence."

Leah Binder, president of The Leapfrog Group, called the decline nationally in patient reports "deeply concerning" because communication is such an important part of maintaining patient safety.

Still, New Jersey outpaced the rest of the U.S. in top hospital grades, with 76% getting an "A" or "B" grade compared with 54% nationally. No New Jersey hospital received a "D" or "F" — scores that about 8% of hospitals nationwide received.

A list of 67 New Jersey hospitals and their grades are below.

Many of New Jersey's hospitals were able to cut down on staph, bloodstream and urinary tract infections after seeing those rates climb during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospital leaders attributed that to the pandemic, when staff members were stretched thin. But nurses and others say conditions are not much better, because hospitals remain understaffed and therefore less safe. Nearly a third of nurses have left direct patient care at hospitals over the past three years, reported the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union.

About 1,700 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick have been on strike since August, saying they are burned out from a staff shortage. They support legislation that would establish staffing ratios at hospitals and other medical facilities.

In North Jersey, six hospitals received an "A" grade: Englewood Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, St. Mary's General Hospital in Passaic and The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.

How did your local hospital do?

Below are Leapfrog's fall grades for 67 New Jersey hospitals.

To see last spring's grades, click here.

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

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

• Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May: B

• Capital Health Medical Center, Hopewell: B

• Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton: B

• CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center: C

• CarePoint Health-Christ Hospital, Jersey City: C

• Carepoint Health-Hoboken University Medical Center: C

• CareWell Health Medical Center, East Orange: C

• CentraState Medical Center, Freehold: C

• Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains: B

• Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville: C

• Community Medical Center, Toms River: A

• Cooper University Hospital, Camden: B

• Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston: C

• Englewood Hospital and Medical Center: A

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

• HMH Hackensack University Medical Center: A

• HMH JFK University Medical Center, Edison: C

• HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune: A

• HMH Mountainside Medical Center, Montclair: B

• HMH Ocean University Medical Center, Brick: A

• HMH Old Bridge Medical Center: B

• HMH Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen: B

• HMH Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood: B

• HMH Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy: B

• HMH Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank: B

• HMH Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin: B

• Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Hackettstown: B

• Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck: B

• Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus: C

• Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington: A

• Inspira Medical Center Elmer: A

• Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill: A

• Inspira Medical Center Vineland: A

• Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital: A

• Jefferson Stratford Hospital: A

• Jefferson Washington Township Hospital: A

• Jersey City Medical Center: B

• Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch: B

• Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Lakewood: A

• Morristown Medical Center: A

• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center: C

• Newton Medical Center: B

• Overlook Medical Center, Summit: A

• Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center: A

• RWJ University Hospital, New Brunswick: B

• RWJ University Hospital at Hamilton: C

• RWJ University Hospital Rahway: A

• RWJ University Hospital Somerset: B

• Saint Clare's Hospital of Denville: A

• Saint Clare's Hospital of Dover: B

• Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark: C

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

• Shore Medical Center, Somers Point: B

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

• St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center: B

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

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

• The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood: A

• Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth: C

• University Hospital, Newark: C

• Virtua Marlton Hospital: A

• Virtua Mount Holly Hospital: B

• Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden: C

• Virtua Voorhees Hospital: A

• Virtua Willingboro Hospital: B

Not enough data was available to assign grades to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center or Salem Medical Center.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Best hospitals in NJ stumble in patient safety scores