NJ Hospital Quality Ratings: The Best, Worst Of 2021

NEW JERSEY — Some of New Jersey’s hospitals rank among the best in the nation, while others have some work to do, according to recently updated ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The federal agency recently updated its hospital quality ratings for 2021, which assesses more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals on measures such as safety, mortality and effectiveness of care.

This is the first star ratings update since January 2020.

The ratings were compiled using data from various periods; however, the most recent data used was from 2019, or before the coronavirus pandemic.

To rate hospitals, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses a star rating system, which it launched in 2016. The system assigns stars based on 48 measures in five different categories, according to the agency’s website: mortality, safety, readmission rates, patient experience, and timely and effective care.

Once reporting thresholds are met, a hospital's overall star rating is calculated using only those measures for which data is available. The average is about 37 measures. The agency then calculates a weighted average that combines a hospital’s score in each category into a single summary score.

Overall, 50 percent of hospitals received the same rating while 45 percent moved up or down by one star, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. Only 5 percent shifted up or down by two or more stars.

Read more about the methodology behind the 2021 ratings.

Information was not available for all New Jersey hospitals. Those hospitals that information was available for are listed below, with the name of the hospital and how many stars it earned:

• Hackensack University Medical Center: 3
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center: 2
• Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen: 2
• Huterdon Medical Center, Flemington: 4
• St. Mary’s General Hospital, Passaic: 3
• Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck: 2
• Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville: 3
• University Medical Center of Princeton: 4
• Cape May Regional Medical Center: 3
• Valley Hospital, Ridgewood: 4
• Cooper University Hospital, Camden: 2
• Morristown Medical Center: 5
• Carepoint Health-Christ Hospital, Jersey City: 2
• Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains: 3
• St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Paterson: 1
• St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton: 2
• Virtua West Jersey Hospitals, Marlton: 3
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway: 1
• Carepoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center: 2
• Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth: 1
• Newton Medical Center: 5
• Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden: 3
• Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills: 4
• Inspira Medical Center Vineland: 2
• Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank: 3
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick: 2
• Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy: 2
• Carepoint Health-Hoboken Medical Center: 2
• Community Medical Center, Toms River: 2
• Capital Health Medical Center, Pennington: 3
• Englewood Hospital and Medical Center: 3
• Shore Medical Center, Somers Point: 2
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Somerville: 3
• Saint Clare’s Hospital Denville: 4
• Overlook Hospital, Summit: 4
• Ocean Medical Center, Brick: 3
• Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside, Montclair: 2
• Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly: 2
• Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus: 1
• St. Luke’s Warren Hospital, Phillipsburg: 5
• Virtua Hospital Willingboro: 3
• AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City: 3
• Inspira Medical Center Elmer: 3
• Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick: 4
• Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune: 3
• Jersey City Medical Center: 2
• Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch: 4
• Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston: 3
• Inspira Medical Center, Woodbury: 2
• East Orange General Hospital: 2
• Monmouth Medical Center, Lakewood: 3
• Jefferson Hospital, Stratford: 3
• Salem Medical Center: 2
• Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton: 2
• Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Newark: 3
• JFK Medical Center, Edison: 2
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Hamilton: 4
• Centrastate Medical Center, Freehold: 2
• Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel: 2
• Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin: 4
• Hackettstown Medical Center: 1
• Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus: 1
• The University Hospital, Newark: 1
• Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood: 3

Nationwide, here’s how hospitals rated this year:

• 455 received a five-star rating
• 988 received a four-star rating
• 1,018 hospitals received a three-star rating
• 690 hospitals received a two-star rating
• 204 hospitals received a one-star rating

No information was available for 1,181 facilities, about a quarter of all U.S. hospitals.

This compares with January 2020 data, when of the 5,340 hospitals listed, 396 received five stars; 1,132 received four stars; 1,108 got three stars; 710 received two stars; and 226 got one star.

Explore the 2021 ratings on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website.