Morristown Medical Center

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

New Jersey hospitals earned high marks in the latest Hospital Safety Grades released Thursday, Nov. 13, by The Leapfrog Group, a national organization that tracks how well facilities protect patients from medical errors, injuries and infections.

Leapfrog assigns every general hospital in the country a letter grade — A through F — based on preventable patient harm. These issues affect one in four inpatients and contribute to as many as 250,000 deaths each year, according to the organization.

This fall, Leapfrog analyzed how hospital systems perform statewide. The group found that 90% of New Jersey hospitals graded this term are part of a larger health system. Among hospitals earning an A, 94% are system-affiliated. And among the 358 “Straight A” hospitals nationwide — facilities scoring an A for more than two consecutive years — 95% belong to a system.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said the organization is marking a major milestone.

“The Leapfrog Group was founded 25 years ago to improve American health care through transparency, and the Safety Grade has been a cornerstone of that effort,” Binder said. “As we mark this milestone year, for the first time we’re looking at how consolidation impacts patient safety. We want to understand if system leadership accelerates patient safety or not.”

Hospitals that earned Straight As are:

  • Community Medical Center, Toms River
  • Englewood Hospital
  • Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center
  • Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center
  • Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center
  • Hunterdon Medical Center
  • Inspira Medical Center Elmer
  • Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill
  • Jefferson Washington Township Hospital
  • Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (Lakewood)
  • Morristown Medical Center
  • Overlook Medical Center
  • RWJ University Hospital Rahway
  • St. Luke’s Warren Campus (Phillipsburg)
  • St. Mary’s General Hospital (Passaic)
  • Virtua Marlton Hospital
  • Virtua Voorhees Hospital

A handful of other facilities earned Bs and Cs, while only one earned a D: CareWell Health Medical Center in East Orange.

Click here for the full New Jersey hospital rankings from the Leapfrog Group.