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With more than 80% of New Jersey hospitals receiving either an A or B mark, the Fall 2024 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades ranked the Garden State among the top nationwide.

New Jersey was fifth in the percentage of A hospitals in the latest assessment, released Nov. 15. According to the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, the regional leader for Leapfrog Group in New Jersey and New York, the state has the highest Leapfrog Hospital Survey participation in the country, at 100%. Released twice yearly, the Safety Grades provide a critical measure of patient safety for hospitals throughout the nation.

When it comes to New Jersey safety grades this fall (left) as compared to the last round (right):

• 31 hospitals earned an A (46%) – up 1 
• 23 hospitals earned a B (34%) – down 1 
• 13 hospitals earned a C (19%) – up 1
• 0 hospitals earned a D – down 1 
• 0 hospitals earned an F – no change 

“New Jersey continues to stand out for the high rate of participation in the voluntary Leapfrog Hospital Safety Survey,” said Adelisa Perez Hudgins, director of quality at the NJ Health Care Quality Institute. “We applaud the commitment of our hospitals in New Jersey even as we recognize that preventable medical errors still happen far too often, including in our own communities.”

Seven hospitals received higher marks over over the last assessment (listed with Fall 2024 grade):

• CarePoint Health-Christ Hospital Jersey City –  C
• Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center Montclair –  B
• Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley Medical Center Westwood – A
• Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center Red Bank – A
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Newark – B
• Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center Plainsboro – A
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset Somerville – A

In the Fall 2023 assessment, nearly 20 hospitals had declines. Marking a drastic year-over-year improvement, just five facilities dropped a grade:

• CarePoint Health-Hoboken University Medical Center Hoboken – C
• Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center Perth Amboy – B
• Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital Cherry Hill – B
• The Valley Hospital Paramus – B
• Virtua Willingboro Hospital Willingboro – C

In the spring, 30 New Jersey hospitals earned A grades. The state ranked No. 3 nationwide in that report for the percentage of facilities to earn an A grade. Despite that drop, the Quality Institute noted that New Jersey actually increased its rate of highest marks — from 44.8% to 46.3%.

Leapfrog graded 67 acute care hospitals in New Jersey. The nonprofit patient safety organization reported there was not enough data available to grade Bergen New Bridge Medical Center. Meanwhile, Inspira Medical Center Mannington, did not receive a Fall Safety Grade because the facility received a new CMS Certification Number after acquiring Salem Medical Center. Since it is therefore treated as a new facility, Leapfrog policies dictate it is not eligible to receive a safety grade this year.

Bigger picture

Utah ranked first nationwide this fall for the percentage of A hospitals (60.7%), followed by Virginia (57.7%), Connecticut (50%) and North Carolina (46.7%).

Nationwide, Leapfrog data show improvements in important areas, including hand hygiene and medication safety. Also significant: 92% of hospitals improved performance on at least one of three dangerous preventable infections. Leapfrog data previously found a trio of health care-acquired infections or HAIs hit a five-year peak during the pandemic. In the latest, HAI scores “declined dramatically” nationwide:

• Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) – down 34%
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) – down 30%
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – down 30% 

“While today’s results are promising, patient safety remains a crisis-level hazard in health care. Some hospitals are much better than others at protecting patients from harm, and that’s why we make the Hospital Safety Grade available to the public and why we encourage all hospitals to focus more attention on safety,” commented Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.

The Leapfrog Group has released its findings in this way for more than 10 years, assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the U.S. based on a facility’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.

You can find detailed hospital performance information as well as grades for individual hospitals on The Leapfrog Group’s website.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story listed the percentage of New Jersey hospitals with “B” grades at 23%; it was updated to 34% at 12:24 p.m. EST Nov. 15, 2024. It was updated at 1:34 p.m. to correctly idenfity Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center’s grade as a B.