New Jersey's Best, Worst Hospitals In 2017

Perhaps the best way to get advice on a good hospital is to ask the patients.

Patch has ranked the state's hospitals from top to bottom based on a series of surveys conducted by a well-respected health consumer website (see list below).

Healthgrades looks at patient ratings in a number of key clinical areas. Topping the list is Morristown Medical Center based on clinical outcomes in inpatient conditions and procedures.

For the second year in a row, Morristown Medical Center also has been named one of America's 50 best hospitals by Healthgrades.

“Patients can be more secure in their decision to trust Atlantic Health System with their care, given our nationally recognized, consistent commitment to clinical excellence, patient safety, and patient outcomes,” said Trish O’Keefe, president of Morristown Medical Center.

Brad Bowman, chief medical officer for Morristown Medical Center, said Healthgrades' analysis of clinical outcomes shows that there is tremendous variation in care, so it’s important for consumers to research and select a hospital that will provide high-quality care.

For Morristown, those clinical areas showed the following percentage of people were satisfied with their care because:

• 78 percent - Nurses always communicated well
• 59 percent - Patients always received help as soon as they wanted
• 61 percent - Staff always explained
• 71 percent - Pain was always well controlled

Here is the list of hospitals and the percentage of people satisfied with their care (some did not have ratings - they're listed at the bottom):

1. Morristown Medical Center, Morristown: 82 percent
2. The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood: 80 percent
3. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center: 78 percent
4. Inspira Medical Center: Elmer: 78 percent
5. HackensackUMC, Hackensack: 77 percent
6. University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro: 77 percent
7. HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley, Westwood: 76 percent
8. Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston: 76 percent
9. Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick: 76 percent
10. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick: 75 percent
11. Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck: 74 percent
12. Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune: 74 percent
13. Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch: 74 percent
14. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center City Division, Atlantic City: 73 percent
15. Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington: 73 percent
16. Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank: 72 percent
17. Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell, Pennington: 71 percent
18. HackensackUMC Mountainside, Montclair: 71 percent
19. Overlook Medical Center, Summit: 71 percent
20. Cooper University Health Care, Camden: 70 percent
21. Saint Clare's Denville Hospital: 70 percent
22. Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark: 70 percent
23. Shore Medical Center, Somers Point: 70 percent
24. Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton: 69 percent
25. CentraState Medical Center, Freehold: 69 percent
26. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Rahway: 69 percent
27. Virtua Memorial, Mount Holly: 69 percent
28. Ocean Medical Center, Brick: 68 percent
29. Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Camden: 68 percent
30. St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson: 68 percent
31. CarePoint Health Christ Hospital, Jersey City: 66 percent
32. Kennedy University Hospital: Stratford: 66 percent
33. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center: 66 percent
34. JFK Medical Center, Edison: 65 percent
35. Hackettstown Medical Center: 64 percent
36. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Somerville: 64 percent
37. Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains: 62 percent
38. Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel: 61 percent
39. Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin: 61 percent
40. Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May Court House: 60 percent
41. Hoboken University Medical Center, Hoboken: 60 percent
42. St. Luke's Warren Campus, Phllipsburg: 60 percent
43. Inspira Medical Center - Woodbury: 59 percent
44. Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy: 59 percent
45. Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville: 58 percent
46. Inspira Medical Center - Vineland: 58 percent
47. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Hamilton: 58 percent
48. University Hospital, Newark: 56 percent
49. The Memorial Hospital of Salem County, Salem: 55 percent
50. Monmouth Medical Center - Southern Campus, Lakewood: 54 percent
51. Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth: 54 percent
52. Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paramus: 52 percent
53. CarePoint Health Bayonne Medical Center, Bayonne: 52 percent
54. Community Medical Center, Toms River: 51 percent
55. Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, Secaucus: 51 percent
56. East Orange General Hospital: 45 percent

Not rated

• AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Division, Galloway
• HackensackUMC Palisades, North Bergen
• Jersey City Medical Center
• Kennedy University Hospital - Cherry Hill
• Kennedy University Hospital - Washington Township, Turnersville
• Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Willingboro
• Newton Medical Center
• Raritan Bay Medical Center-Old Bridge Division
• Saint Clare's Dover Hospital
• Saint Clare's Hospital/Boonton Township
• St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital
• St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic
• Virtua Marlton
• Virtua Voorhees

Find out more about Healthgrades by clicking here.

Patch file photo