RWJUH Somerset Earns Patient Safety Award

SOMERVILLE, NJ —Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset has been recognized as a recipient of the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award, which is just one of several recent honors the RWJBarnabas Health facility has received.

The Patient Safety Excellence Award puts RWJUH Somerset in the top five percent in the nation for patient safety data among the acute care hospitals evaluated by Healthgrades. The organization, a leading marketplace connecting patients and providers, judged hospitals based on 13 Patient Safety Indicators (PSI).

Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award, were on average less likely to experience hip fractures from falls, bed sores, bloodstream infections or a lung event from surgery.

"Through our journey to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO), we have developed a culture of patient safety at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset," said Tony Cava, president and chief executive officer at RWJUH Somerset. "No matter where they work in the hospital, our team members each play an important role in ensuring our patients receive the highest quality care in a safe environment. Patient safety always comes first."

RWJUH also recently earned an "A" Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog in its Spring 2021 ratings, which were released in April. It was the sixth year in a row RWJUH Somerset received an "A" and its 12th "A" overall.

Additionally, RWJUH Somerset was designated a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence and it received the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery and for its stroke and acute myocardial infarction programs.

RWJUH Somerset's Steeplechase Cancer Center also has been nationally accredited by the Commission on Cancer and the hospital has been named as a leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign for the sixth year in a row.