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NJ hospitals earn Healthgrades awards for patient experience, safety (updated)
Dawn Furnas//March 16, 2023
NJ hospitals earn Healthgrades awards for patient experience, safety (updated)
Dawn Furnas//March 16, 2023
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Healthgrades has unveiled its awards for patient experience and safety for 2023, and more than a dozen New Jersey health care centers made the cut.
Released March 14, the Outstanding Patient Experience Award celebrates institutions that prioritize positive patient experience during a short-term, acute care visit; the Patient Safety Excellence Award recognizes U.S. hospitals that are providing quality care while preventing serious safety events during hospital stays.
In total, 419 hospitals across 47 states received the Patient Experience Award, and 445 hospitals across 44 states earned a Patient Safety Excellence Award this year.
In New Jersey, three health care providers were named to the patient experience list, and 13 were recognized for safety.
NJ Outstanding Patient Experience Award
- Deborah Heart And Lung Center, Browns Mills
- Inspira Medical Center, Elmer – Inspira Health Network
- Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro – Penn Medicine Princeton Health
NJ Patient Safety Excellence Award honorees
- Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains – Atlantic Health System
- Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack – Hackensack Meridian Health
- Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel – Hackensack Meridian Health
- Newton Medical Center, Newton – Atlantic Health System
- Ocean University Medical Center, Brick – Hackensack Meridian Health
- Overlook Medical Center, Summit – Atlantic Health System
- Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital, Denville – Prime Healthcare
- Saint Clare’s Dover Hospital, Dover – Prime Healthcare
- Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Newark – Prime Healthcare
- Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick – Saint Peter’s HealthCare System
- St. Mary’s General Hospital, Passaic – Prime Healthcare
- Saint Luke’s Warren Hospital, Phillipsburg – St. Luke’s University Health Network
- Valley Hospital, Ridgewood – Valley Health System
“Healthgrades’ Patient Safety Excellence Award and Outstanding Patient Experience Award highlight the hospitals that are making patient safety and experience a priority, helping patients feel confident as they make more informed decisions about their health care,” Dr. Brad Bowman, Healthgrades’ chief medical officer, said in a statement.
How they were evaluated
For the patient experience analysis, Healthgrades evaluated patient survey data against 10 benchmarks. The 2023 award recipients are among the top 15% of U.S. hospitals that provide a best-in-class hospital experience for patients from January 2021 through December 2021.
Healthgrades found that three patient experience ratings best predict whether a patient will recommend a hospital to friends and family: doctor communication, nurse communication and clear communication about care when they are discharged.
Healthgrades evaluated 3,138 hospitals that submitted at least 75 patient experience surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Hospitals in the bottom 20% for overall clinical quality were excluded from consideration.
For the patient safety list, Healthgrades evaluated data from nearly 4,500 hospitals from 2019 through 2021 and recognized the top 10% of hospitals based on data measuring clinical performance across 14 patient safety indicators. To be eligible for the award, hospitals must meet certain clinical quality thresholds, have no instances in which a foreign object was left behind during a procedure and have data on at least seven out of eight core patient safety indicators.
What they’re saying
Several of the recognized hospitals in New Jersey released statements about the awards, saying:
“At Atlantic Health System, patient safety is our top priority as we continually analyze and enhance our safety standards, quality benchmarks and positive health outcomes. This recognition is a testament to the culture of safety displayed daily by our teams at Chilton, Newton and Overlook Medical Centers.”
— Donna Lawson, vice president, Quality and Patient Safety, Atlantic Health System
“Deborah Heart and Lung Center is very proud to receive an Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades. While it is extremely gratifying to be recognized for providing exceptional and compassionate patient care, what matters most to us is that our teams strive to provide that level of care to every patient, every time. Our highly experienced staff are focused on providing the highest level of specialty medical care, and then blending that with the many nuances that result in a positive patient experience. This recognition reflects the hard work of each and every one of our team members every day.”
— Joseph Chirichella, president and CEO, Deborah Heart and Lung Center
“At Inspira, our teams work tirelessly to provide outstanding experiences to all of our patients and visitors. Our patients are at the heart of all that we do, whether it’s providing great experiences or delivering the highest quality care in the safest possible environment. This recognition from Healthgrades reaffirms our commitment to our patients and are proud of this achievement.”
— Dr. Tony Reed, senior vice president, chief quality, safety and experience officer, Inspira Health
“We take great pride in being named among the top 5% of all hospitals in the United States for patient safety. We have made patient safety our top priority at Saint Michael’s and our entire staff deserves credit for their dedication to delivering safe, high-quality care every day.”
— Dr. Alan Sickles, CEO, Saint Michael’s, part of Prime Healthcare
“Saint Peter’s University Hospital, guided by our Catholic mission, is pledged to creating an environment of mutual support among employees and physicians and to pursuing clinical excellence and patient safety. We are proud to be recognized among the country’s best hospitals for patient safety, further demonstrating our ongoing commitment to prioritizing safe, quality health care for those who entrust us with their care.”
— Leslie Hirsch, president and CEO, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System
“We are honored to be recognized as one of the top hospitals in the country for patient safety. Valley makes patient safety a top priority, and our staff and doctors work diligently to continue improving upon quality and patient safety protocols.”
— Audrey Meyers, president and CEO, Valley Health System
Editor’s note: NJBIZ has reached out to all the award recipients for a statement and will update this story accordingly.
