PRINCETON – May 10, 2022 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of employers and purchasers of health care — and driven in New Jersey by the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute — today announced the Spring 2022 Hospital Safety Grades.

 

The independent grading system assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national measures of preventable errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

 

New Jersey is the only state in the nation with 100 percent hospital participation in the 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

 

“The past two years have brought unprecedented challenges to our hospitals, and we’re grateful that every general hospital in our state has remained committed to participating in the Leapfrog survey,” said Linda Schwimmer, President and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. “At the Quality Institute, we’re here to provide support to any hospital that wants to improve its Safety Grade or maintain a high score.”

 

The Spring Safety Grade is based on pandemic-era data and, at some hospitals, pre-pandemic data.

 

Sixty-nine of the 70 hospitals (or 67%) graded received an A or B grade, which is the same as Fall 2021. Six hospitals went up a grade; eight hospitals went down a grade. D hospitals were Holy Name Medical Center, East Orange Medical Center, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center. Leapfrog was unable to assign a grade to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center for this round.

 

Here is the breakdown of grades:

• 30 A hospitals – 43% (same number of A’s as last round)
• 16 B hospitals – 23% (same number of B’s as last round)
• 19 C hospitals – 28% (3 less C’s than last round)
• 4 D hospital – 6% (2 more D’s than last round)
• 0 F hospital – 0% (same number of F’s as last round)

 

The updated Hospital Safety Grades are published alongside a new report from The Leapfrog Group, Patient Experience During the Pandemic: Adult Inpatient Care. The report provides insight into how patient experience has declined between the pre‐pandemic and mid‐pandemic timeframe.

 

“Nationwide, studies have shown a decline in quality during the challenges of the pandemic. While we are concerned that some hospitals in New Jersey had safety grades that dropped, we also saw some hospitals improve their scores,” said Schwimmer. “This serves as a reminder that we need all hospitals to remain vigilant and to continue to evaluate and work to improve their quality and patient safety.”

 

Also, the New Jersey Department of Health recently published its 2021Hospital Performance Report, which includes information on patient safety. We encourage consumers to consult the report for additional information on how safe a particular facility is, and how it compares to state and national averages on certain quality measures.

 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. Grades are updated biannually in the fall and in the spring.

 

“Patients in New Jersey deserve to know which hospitals are safest, so they can make an informed decision to protect themselves and their loved ones when seeking care,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We’re excited to celebrate those hospitals in New Jersey that uphold high standards of patient care.”

 

For more information about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, as well as individual hospital grades and state rankings, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Facebook and Twitter.

 

About the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute

The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute’s (Quality Institute) mission is to improve the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for everyone. Our membership comes from all stakeholders in health care. Together with our 100 plus members, we are working toward a world where all people receive safe, equitable, and affordable health care and live their healthiest lives.

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About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

 

Quality Institute Press Contact: Carol Ann Campbell

cacampbell@njhcqi.org (973-567-1901)