New NJ Hospital Safety Ratings: 25 Get 'A' Grade, 2 Get 'Ds'

NEW JERSEY — Twenty-five New Jersey hospitals received an "A" grade for patient safety, Leapfrog recently released a new round of hospital safety grades. In that same analysis, two New Jersey hospitals received a "D" grade.

Twenty-four hospitals received a "B," while 16 got a "C."

Across the United States, the latest grades show 34 percent of hospitals nationwide earned an A, while 24 percent earned a B. A total of 35 percent earned a C, seven received a D and less than 1 percent received an F.

Hospitals receiving A grades included the following:

1. Bayshore Medical Center (Holmdel)
2. CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center
3. Chilton Medical Center (Pompton Plains)
4. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
5. Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center (Westwood)
6. Hunterdon Medical Center (Flemington)
7. Inspira Medical Center Elmer
8. Inspira Medical Center Vineland
9. Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital
10. Jefferson Stratford Hospital
11. Jefferson Washington Township Hospital
12. Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch)
13. Morristown Medical Center
14. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
15. Newton Medical Center
16. Ocean Medical Center (Brick)
17. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton
18. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (Somerville)
19. Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston)
20. Saint Clare's Hospital at Denville
21. Saint Clare's Hospital at Dover
22. Saint Michael's Medical Center (Newark)
23. Saint Peter's University Hospital (New Brunswick)
24. St. Luke's Warren Campus (Phillipsburg)
25. The Valley Hospital (Ridgewood)

East Orange General Hospital and St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center each received D grades.

View the list of New Jersey hospital ratings, and see how your local hospital fared.

Leapfrog's safety grades are released by the nonprofit organization twice per year, in the spring and the fall. The ratings of more than 2,600 hospitals nationwide focus on accidents, injuries and infections, and help to assess how well a facility prevents medical errors and other harm to patients.

The group determines the hospital grades by looking through safety data reported in 2018 and 2019. The safety grade is the only rating focused entirely on how well hospitals protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

(You can read more about the letter grades here.)

The report does not take into account the strain the coronavirus outbreak is placing on some hospitals, with shortages of drugs and protection equipment.

"We see in the news every day the extraordinary courage of clinicians and staff caring for patients stricken by COVID-19," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in a statement. "What's less apparent — yet equally laudable — are the untold efforts behind the scenes to protect patients. Hospitals' commitment to the fundamentals have saved lives too, like preventing infection, ensuring universal hand hygiene, and double and triple checking everything to avoid errors. We are grateful for the heroic efforts of hospitals across the Nation and applaud their efforts that are protecting our families."