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Healthgrades, an online resource providing information about physicians and hospitals, released its 2025 Specialty State Rankings Oct. 22, along with its annual awards in Specialty Care and Outpatient Care. 

The awards aim to help patients decide where to seek medical care, identifying hospitals that deliver consistently better-than-expected outcomes across specialty care areas. 

“Doing your research ahead of time and understanding where you can find high quality care can positively impact your healthcare journey and overall experience,” added Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer and head of data science at Healthgrades, in a press release accompanying the rankings. 

Specialty State Rankings  

The Specialty State Ranking category measures hospital performance across 18 key specialty areas to identify the highest-ranking hospitals in 31 eligible states. 

States with six or fewer hospitals that meet the requirements in an individual award area are not eligible for rankings in that area. When a state has between seven and 10 eligible facilities for an individual award area, Healthgrades names the top three facilities. When a state has 11 or more eligible facilities for an individual award area, it named top 5 facilities for that award. 

New Jersey Specialty State honorees: 

Cardiac Care 

• No. 1: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune | Hackensack Meridian Health

Cardiology 

• No. 1: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 2: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 3: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System
• No. 4: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 5: Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro

Critical Care 

• No. 1: Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro
• No. 2: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains | Atlantic Health System
• No. 4: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 5: Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack | Hackensack Meridian Health

Gastrointestinal Care 

• No. 1: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 4: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System
• No. 5: Ocean University Medical Center, Brick | Hackensack Meridian Health

Gastrointestinal Medical Treatment 

• No. 1: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 2: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 4: Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 5: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System

Gastrointestinal Surgery 

• No. 1: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 4: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System
• No. 5: Ocean University Medical Center, Brick | Hackensack Meridian Health

Joint Replacement 

• No. 1: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Community Medical Center, Toms River | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington | Hunterdon Health

Neurosciences 

• No. 1: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 3: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune | Hackensack Meridian Health

Pulmonary Care 

• No. 1: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Ocean University Medical Center, Brick | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 3: Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 4: Newton Medical Center, Newton | Atlantic Health System
• No. 5: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health

Stroke Care 

• No. 1: Overlook Medical Center, Summit | Atlantic Health System
• No. 2: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune | Hackensack Meridian Health
• No. 3: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset | RWJBarnabas Health
• No. 4: The Valley Hospital, Paramus | Valley Health System
• No. 5: Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro

Specialty Excellence & Outpatient Awards

Honorees in the Specialty Excellence Awards are among the top 10% of hospitals specializing in 16 specialty areas, such as cardiac surgery, critical care and stroke care.

For this category, Healthgrades evaluated outcomes at more than 4,500 hospitals across 31 common procedures and conditions. In New Jersey, 40 facilities earned awards in these specialties. Click here to see the full list of Garden State hospitals.

The health care resource also awarded facilities for outpatient care — one of the fastest-growing areas of health care, according to Healthgrades. For example, from 2020 to 2023: 

• Outpatient knee replacement volume grew 87%, while inpatient volumes declined by 57%; 
• Outpatient hip replacement volume grew 154%, while inpatient volumes declined more than 60%. 

To recognize leaders in the space, Healthgrades doled out Excellence Awards in Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery and Outpatient Joint Replacement. It also added a new category for 2025: Outpatient Prostate Care. 

New Jersey Outpatient Award honorees: 

AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (orthopedic and joint replacement categories)
Atlantic City campus | AtlantiCare

Clara Maass Medical Center (prostate)
Belleville | RWJBarnabas Health

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (prostate)
Livingston | RWJBarnabas Health

Monmouth Medical Center (joint replacement)
Long Branch | RWJBarnabas Health

Morristown Medical Center (orthopedic, joint replacement and prostate)
Morristown | Atlantic Health System

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (prostate)
Newark | RWJBarnabas Health

Overlook Medical Center (orthopedic)
Summit | Atlantic Health System

Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital (prostate)
Denville | Prime Healthcare Services

The Valley Hospital (joint replacement and prostate)
Paramus | Valley Health System

Virtua Voorhees Hospital (orthopedic and joint replacement)
Voorhees | Virtua Health

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:52 p.m. ET Oct. 23, 2024, to note there were 40 New Jersey hospitals that earned specialty awards. Previously the story noted “nearly 30.”