New Jersey ranked fifth best in the nation for having the safest hospitals, including eight that earned straight A's since the Leapfrog Group started the biannual survey in 2012.
TRENTON -- New Jersey scored fifth best in the nation for having the safest hospitals, including eight that have earned straight A's since the Leapfrog Group started its biannual survey hospital performance in 2012.
Once again, New Jersey ranked near the top, behind Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia and Florida. Of the 67 Garden State hospitals that were graded, 32 received A's according to Leapfrog's latest report released Wednesday morning.
EARLIER COVERAGE: N.J. ranks 5th highest in hospital safety
The straight-A hospitals for all eight report cards are Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center, Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Saint Clare's Hospital in Denville and Dover, and JFK Medical Center in Edison.
"Consumers should use this data when making decisions about where to seek care for themselves and their families," said Linda J. Schwimmer, president & CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and a Leapfrog board member. "These scores reflect how well hospitals work to keep patients safe -- from falls, infections, medication mistakes and other errors that kill or harm tens of thousands of Americans each year."
Schwimmer also noted that New Jersey has the fourth highest participation rate the Leapfrog survey. She attributed that to insurance companies that began using Leapfrog data a decade ago, even before the report card system began, as part of their pay-for-performance program.
Leapfrog began the scorecard following a national report that found hospital errors are the third leading cause of death in the country, behind heart disease and cancer. Leapfrog recruited medical experts to develop a 28-point grading system to measure hospital safety based on largely Medicare data, measuring the rate of preventable falls, infections.
No hospital in New Jersey scored lower than a C.
"Number five in the nation for patient safety is a nice place to be, but our hospitals are committed to ongoing quality improvement," Betsy Ryan said, president of the New Jersey Hospital Association, the state's largest hospital trade group.
"Hospitals across the state have worked closely with NJHA over the last three years through the Partnership for Patients-NJ initiative, which was funded by the Affordable Care Act," Ryan added. "That initiative targets complications that can develop in a hospital, like infections, pressure ulcers or patient falls. We've had tremendous results statewide in that program - 13,730 cases of patient harm averted and $120 million in related cost savings. I think we're seeing that hard work reflected in these new safety scores."
Some hospitals in the aggressively competitive New Jersey market, that also spills over into New York and Philadelphia, were quick to call attention to their scores.
"The team at CarePoint Health works hard every day to ensure the safety of our patients," said Nizar Kifaieh, chief medical officer for CarePoint Health, the for-profit system which includes Bayonne Medical Center, Chris Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken Medical Center. "From the doctors and nurses to administrative and support staff, we consider it everyone's responsibility to strive for the highest levels of quality and patient safety. These three "A" ratings are a validation of that effort."
Virtua President and CEO Richard P. Miller attributed the straight A's his three hospitals in Marlton, Mount Holly and Voorhees earned to the staff's "rigorous" training and monitoring activities.
"This excellent rating is a much deserved recognition of the exceptional care and commitment Virtua physicians and staff provide every single day," Miller said.
Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick pointed out it was the only hospital in Middlesex County to receive an A, scoring high in "teamwork training and skill building," hand hygiene, and care of the ventilated patient among other measures.
"Our employees deserve enormous credit for this achievement, reaffirming once again that Saint Peter's is among the safest hospitals in New Jersey and in the nation," said Leslie D. Hirsch, president of Saint Peter's Healthcare System.
For more information on the Hospital Safety Score or the grades for specific hospitals visit www.njhcqi.org and www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
