NJ hospitals make the grade in spring Leapfrog assessment

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New Jersey’s hospitals all received passing grades in The Leapfrog Group’s latest Safety Grade assessment. 

Not only did the Garden State post no Ds or Fs, it was also the top-ranked state nationally for the number of A grades received in the nonprofit’s Spring 2023, Hospital Safety Grades, released May 3. 

With more than half (51.5%) of New Jersey’s hospitals receiving As, the state improved upon its No. 6 position from the previous assessment last fall. In the Spring 2022 report, the state ranked 12th. 

Across the national rankings, just 29% of facilities received an A grade. 

Nearly 3,000 hospitals participate in the program, which measures preventable errors, injuries, accidents and infections on more than 30 national measures. According to The Leapfrog Group, which represents hundreds of employers and purchasers of health care, it is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. 

The only state nationwide with 100% participation in the voluntary program, 68 Garden State hospitals were ranked for the Spring Grades. Of those, 77% received an A or B grade, a 1% increase from fall 2022. (The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute noted that Leapfrog was not able to assign a Safety Grade to Salem Medical Center and Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.) 

According to the Quality Institute, which drives the national nonprofit Leapfrog Group in New Jersey, this is the first time in several years that the state has avoided the lowest grades. 

“New Jersey hospitals deserve our praise for their commitment to participating in Leapfrog’s voluntary safety survey, and also for their high scores,” Linda Schwimmer, the nonprofit organization’s president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. 

Most facilities did not see a change in their grade from the fall to spring releases.  

However, 15 hospitals did post improved marks, with Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center jumping two grades, from C to A, in addition to: 

On the other end of things, seven hospitals received lower grades, with Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus falling two levels, from A to C.  

A worrisome trend

As was the case nationwide, according to The Leapfrog Group’s spring assessment, hospital-acquired infections – e.g., Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) – remain high, including in New Jersey, after hitting a five-year peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Schwimmer said this rise “shows us that the work of advancing patient safety requires a continued, unrelenting effort. 

“We hope to see New Jersey hospitals double down on their focused efforts to reduce hospital-acquired infections,” she continued. 

While acknowledging the strain the pandemic placed on hospitals and their workforces in particular, The Leapfrog Group President and CEO Leah Binder said the findings show hospitals must recommit to patient safety. 

“The dramatic spike in HAIs reported in this Safety Grade cycle should stop hospitals in their tracks—infections like these can be life or death for some patients,” she said in a statement.  

Binder went on to point out that HAIs also affect a hospital’s operations.  

“Not only are HAIs among the leading causes of death in the U.S., they also increase length of hospitalization stays and add to costs,” she said. “Our pre-pandemic data showed improved HAI measures, but the spring 2023 Safety Grade data spotlights how hospital responses to the pandemic led to a decline in patient safety and HAI management.” 

The spring data also revealed a decline in patient experience measures, according to The Leapfrog Group, which are based on five subjects, reported by individuals and correlated with patient outcomes. Nationwide, all five – nurse communication, doctor communication, staff responsiveness, communication about medicine and discharge information – declined in comparison to pre-pandemic figures, with the biggest in communication about medicine (down 4.28%)and staff responsiveness (down 3.46% decline).