RWJ University Hospital Somerset Earns 'A' Grade For Safety

SOMERVILLE, NJ ? Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset received an "A" grade in hospital safety, according to the Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Grades released Thursday by The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit healthcare watchdog.

"Our commitment to quality and patient safety cannot be overstated, and these scores exemplify how RWJBarnabas Health continues to drive performance improvement across all our hospitals," said Andy Anderson, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Quality Officer at RWJBarnabas Health. "Ensuring that every patient receives safe, compassionate, and high-quality care every day is our top priority."

The Leapfrog Group?s Fall 2025 Hospital Safety Grades are a biannual ranking that assigns a ?A,? ?B,? ?C,? ?D? or ?F? to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

The Leapfrog Group, a watchdog founded 25 years ago, says it aims to improve American health care through transparency.

Medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections are largely preventable problems that harm one in four hospital inpatients and cause as many as 250,000 deaths each year, according to The Leapfrog Group. The Safety Grade reports have been a cornerstone of that effort, the group says.

Here is a look at how RWJ University Hospital Somerset performed in the following five categories:

Infections

• MRSA Infection - Average
• C. diff Infection - Average
• Infection in the blood - Average
• Infection in the urinary tract - Better Than Average
• Surgical site infection after colon surgery - Worse Than Average
• Sepsis infection after surgery - Average

Problems with Surgery

• Dangerous object left in patient's body - Better Than Average
• Surgical wound splits open - Worse Than Average
• Death from serious treatable complications - Average
• Blood Leakage - Better Than Average
• Kidney injury after surgery - Average
• Serious breathing problem - Average
• Accidental cuts and tears - Average

Safety problems

• Harmful events - Better Than Average
• Dangerous bed sores - Average
• Patient falls and injuries - Average
• Falls causing broken hips - Better Than Average
• Collapsed lung - Worse Than Average
• Dangerous blood clot - Average
• Air or gas bubble in the blood - Better Than Average

Practices to Prevent Errors

• Doctors order medications through a computer - Better Than Average
• Safe medication administration - Better Than Average
• Handwashing - Better Than Average
• Communication about medicines - Better Than Average
• Communication about discharge - Average
• Staff work together to prevent errors - Better Than Average

Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff

• Effective leadership to prevent errors - Better Than Average
• Enough qualified nurses - Better Than Average
• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients - Better Than Average
• Communication with doctors - Average
• Communication with nurses - Average
• Responsiveness of hospital staff - Average

You can see the full rankings here.

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