The basics:

• 2025 Leapfrog Top Hospital Award names 7 New Jersey recipients
• Honorees earned an A grade on the latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report
• New Jersey winners span teaching, general hospital categories
• Program marking its 25th year recognizing patient safety excellence

The Leapfrog Group unveiled the 2025 recipients of its annual Top Hospital Award, including seven from New Jersey. 

This year, the watchdog organization recognized 156 health care facilities across the country for excellence in patient safety and quality of care, the Leapfrog Group announced Dec. 15. 

The total marks a 16% increase in hospitals over 2024. This is the program’s 25th year. 

Leapfrog said the highest-performing facilities on its annual hospital survey earned the awards. Only hospitals that received an A on the most recent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report are eligible for the honor. 

Leapfrog recognized award winners during its 2025 Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner in National Harbor, Md.

The organization honored: 

• 15 Top Children’s Hospitals 
• 52 Top General Hospitals 
• 16 Top Rural Hospitals 
• 73 Top Teaching Hospitals 

“These honorees are a testament to the extraordinary dedication of these facilities’ entire teams, boards, clinicians, administrators, staff and community volunteers,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a statement. “You don’t achieve results like this without everyone putting their heart into patient care.”  

The New Jersey health care providers among this year’s honorees included four in the teaching hospital category and three in the general hospital category. 

The Garden State award winners are: 

Top Teaching Hospitals: 

• Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus 
• Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood | Englewood Health 
• Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch | RWJBarnabas Health 
• St. Luke’s Warren Campus, Phillipsburg | St. Luke’s University Health Network 

Top General Hospitals: 

• Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood | Hackensack Meridian Health 
• Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck 
• Shore Medical Center, Somers Point | Penn Medicine 

Last year, New Jersey made a showing in only the teaching hospital category.  

Leapfrog also unveiled the winners of the annual Top Ambulatory Surgery Center Award. No Garden State facility was recognized for that program. 

Head of the class

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center noted it has received the top rating for the fifth year in a row. 

“This designation does more than recognize our team’s commitment to quality – it also reassures the diverse communities we serve that Bergen New Bridge is here for them, providing all the care they need in the safest possible environment,” said Bergen New Bridge President and CEO Deborah Visconi.

Englewood Health celebrated its eighth time as a Top Teaching Hospital award recipient.  

“Every day, our nurses, physicians, and staff bring their personal best to ensure patients receive the safest, most effective care. This honor belongs to the entire Englewood Health team,” said Warren Geller, president and CEO of Englewood Health. 

RWJBarnabas Health shared its announcement of Monmouth Medical Center’s award with NJBIZ, noting it’s the fourth time the Regional Medical Campus of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has received the Top Teaching Hospital award. 

“This impressive achievement is a testament to our respected reputation as a university-level medical center that attracts the top physicians to our teaching faculty,” said President and CEO Eric Carney. “Our resident physicians and medical students are an integral part of our RWJBarnabas Health mission to partner with our communities to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey as an academic health system.” 

Holy Name credited its staff for the recognition in a statement shared with NJBIZ.

“This recognition is especially meaningful because it speaks to the dedication and leadership of our chief medical officer, Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi, and to the exceptional clinicians who work every day to ensure our patients receive the best possible experience. Our mission is to pursue excellence – not merely as an achievement, but as a sacred responsibility,” said Mike Maron, Holy Name president and CEO.

“Being named as a Leapfrog Top General Hospital is deeply meaningful because it represents what matters most: the safety and well-being of the patients and families who trust us with their care,” said Kondamudi, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Holy Name. “I am incredibly proud of our staff for achieving this distinction. It represents the collective devotion of our physicians, nurses, and staff, who bring compassion and skill to every patient encounter.”

Shore Medical Center President and CEO David Hughes called the award “a tremendous honor. 

“After earning an ‘A’ grade for quality and safety in both the spring and fall, this Top Hospital designation further demonstrates our staff’s dedication to providing the safest, highest-quality experience for our patients,” Hughes added. “For a community hospital like ours to be recognized among the nation’s best is an extraordinary accomplishment that reflects our culture and unwavering commitment to those we serve.” 

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:39 a.m. Dec. 16, 2025, to include a statement from Holy Name.