For the first time, U.S. News & World Report released a list of the best outpatient surgical centers in the country, and nearly 20 New Jersey health care providers were named to the rankings. 

For the inaugural Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers list, unveiled May 14, the publication collaborated with analytics firm CareJourney to rate nearly 5,000 outpatient surgical centers in four specialty areas: Colonoscopy & Endoscopy, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics & Spine, and Urology.  

New Jersey joined California, Georgia and Maryland on the list of states with the most urology centers to make it into the top tier. 

“Same-day procedures play an increasingly prominent role in health care as an alternative to overnight hospital care,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a statement, adding that the rankings aim to help patients “navigate their health care needs.” 

Ambulatory surgery centers were evaluated on patient outcome measures, including how successfully they avoided complications, ER visits, unplanned hospitalizations and other undesirable outcomes. Factors such as pre-existing conditions were also accounted for to ensure fair comparisons, U.S. News noted. 

A total of 717 facilities earned high-performing ratings, which is fewer than 15% those evaluated. 

The following New Jersey facilities were named to the Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers lists:

Best Colonoscopy & Endoscopy

• Affiliated Endoscopy Services of Clifton, Clifton  
• Endo-Surgi of Union ASC, Union 
• Northfield Surgical Center, West Orange 
• Princeton Endoscopy Center, Princeton  
• Summit Medical Group Ambulatory Surgery Center, Berkeley Heights 
• Surgicare Surgical Associates of Ridgewood, Ridgewood 
• Teaneck Gastroenterology & Endoscopy Center, Teaneck

Best Orthopedics & Spine

• Edison Surgery Center, Edison  
• Hudson Crossing Surgery Center, Fort Lee

Best Ophthalmology

• Eye Physicians of Sussex County, Newton 
• Ramapo Valley Surgical Center, Ramsey  
• River Drive Surgery and Laser Center, Elmwood Park 
• Somerset Eye Institute, East Brunswick 
• Surgery Center of Central New Jersey, North Brunswick

Best Urology 

• Franklin Surgical Center, Basking Ridge  
• Patient Care Associates, Englewood  
• Surgical Center of Northwest Jersey, Denville 
• Surgical Specialists at Princeton, Princeton 
• Surgicare Surgical Associates of Fair Lawn, Fair Lawn 

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