Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway is one of two dozen hospitals in New Jersey to receive an “A” grade, according to the Leapfrog Group, a healthcare consumer educational group.
Robert Wood Johnson’s main campus in New Brunswick and its affiliate in Hamilton also received top marks.
Leapfrog, an independent watchdog group, releases the ratings to provide consumers a better understanding of the best and worst places in a given area to select care.
“We were very excited,” Joshua Bershad, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “Any time there is a recognition of quality, we take that very seriously. We are excited about being recognized for providing great care to patients.”
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Hackensack University Medical Center along with its sister hospital in Mountainside also received A’s.
“We are proud of both HackensackUMC and HackensackUMC Mountainside for attaining the highest safety score from such a prestigious organization,” said Robert Garrett, president and chief executive officer of Hackensack University Health Network. “Healthcare consumers are becoming more involved in their care, educating and empowering themselves to choose the safest, most effective hospitals and providers. Since acquiring HackensackUMC Mountainside last year and opening HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley earlier this year, Hackensack University Health Network has focused on elevating the level of care at all three hospitals, and these safety scores indicate our success thus far.”
The report is based on 28 categories measuring the rate of preventable problems, from infections, to mistakes — such as operating on the wrong body part — to problems such as falls and bedsores. Doctors are not graded.
“As patients begin to take a more active role in selecting where to receive health care, it has never been more important to focus on hospital safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog. “The ‘A’ hospitals, including HackensackUMC and HackensackUMC Mountainside, are helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide.”
Bershad agreed that the community is beginning to pay more attention to rankings and that grades like these do matter when consumers make choices.
“I think it is starting to,” he said. “It is a growing decision point for consumers.”
Overlook Medical Center received a B.
“We are supportive of public reporting of patient safety data,” said Alan Lieber, president, Overlook Medical Center. “Hopefully, over time, the system for reporting data will improve to reflect more accurate scoring.”
For more information on the Hospital Safety Score, or to find out the score of your local hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
Date: October 23, 2013