RWJ University Hospital Somerset Maintains 'B' Safety Grade

SOMERVILLE, NJ ? For the third time in a row, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset received a "B" grade in hospital safety, according to the spring 2023 hospital safety grades released Wednesday by The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit healthcare watchdog.

Prior to 2022, the hospital in Somerville received rated an "A" grade seven times in a row.

"At RWJUH Somerset, patient safety is of utmost priority. As reflected in the Spring 2023 Hospital Safety scores, the hospital continues to perform above average on metrics such as urinary tract infections, surgical complications, harmful events, handwashing, safe medication administration, doctors ordering medications through a computer and communication with nurses.

"We also rated high for effective leadership to prevent errors, staff working together to prevent errors, having enough qualified nurses and having specially trained doctors to care for ICU patients. Moving forward on our journey toward becoming a high reliability organization (HRO), we continue to evaluate opportunities for improvement and implement best practices," said RWJ Somerset Spokeswoman Kathleen Roberts.

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit healthcare watchdog group, grades hospitals twice a year, assigning letter grades from "A" to "F" based on each hospital's ability to protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

In New Jersey, 31 hospitals received an A, 17 hospitals received a B, 11 hospitals received a C and zero hospitals received a D grade. No hospitals received an F. To see a full listing of how NJ hospitals ranked click here.

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

Infections

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

Problems with Surgery

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

Safety problems

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

Practices to Prevent Errors

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

Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff

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

High rates of three health care-associated infections, or HAIs, ?should stop hospitals in their tracks,? Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release, noting that ?infections like these can be life for death for some patients.?

?We recognize the tremendous strain the pandemic put on hospitals and their workforce, but alarming findings like these indicate hospitals must recommit to patient safety and build more resilience,? Binder said.

The problematic infections are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA; central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSI; and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTI. When compared to rankings that covered the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, the analysis found an increased infection ratio for all three infections. The spring 2023 rankings cover late 2021 and 2022.

However, another such infection, Clostridioides difficile, or C.Diff, improved and there was no significant change for surgical site infections post surgery, the report said. The standardized infection ratio used to measure changes in the rates of infections compares the actual number of reported infections to the predicted number at each hospital.

?Not only are HAIs among the leading causes of death in the U.S., they also increase length of hospitalization stays and add to costs,? Binder said. ?Our pre-pandemic data showed improved HAI measures, but the spring 2023 Safety Grade data spotlights how hospital responses to the pandemic led to a decline in patient safety and HAI management.?

Patient experience measures included communication with nurses and doctors, staff responsiveness, and communication about medicine and discharge information. Nationally, the average of all five measures declined when compared to pre-pandemic measures, according to the report.

Patch's national desk contributed to this report.