CentraState Medical Center Gets 'B' In Nonprofit's Safety Ratings

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — In a bi-yearly check on hospital safety, CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township has received a "B" from a national nonprofit that analyzes safety data.

The Leapfrog Group released its bi-yearly hospital safety grades this week, finding that hospitals overall have improved in reducing the number of avoidable deaths due to medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections, which collectively are the third leading cause of death in America.

The group assessed roughly 2,500 hospitals. Of those, 30 percent earned an "A," 28 percent earned a "B," 35 percent a "C," 6 percent a "D" and 1 percent an "F."

CentraState Medical Center received positive ratings on safety problems; on problems with surgery with and deaths from serious treatable complications and breathing problems receiving below-average scores; and infections, with the exception of c.diff infections, described as a bacterial infection. It received mixed ratings on practices to prevent errors, where it received below-average scores on communication and on doctors ordering medications through a computer, and on doctors, nurses and hospital staff, where communication issues again received below-average scores.

Nearby, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch and Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel received A grades.

"The national numbers on death and harm in hospitals have alarmed us for decades. What we see in the new round of Safety Grades are signs of many hospitals making significant improvements in their patient safety record," Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, said in a release.

The assessment system assigns school-style letter grades to general acute-care hospitals. The hope is to determine a patient's risk of further injury or infection if they visit a certain hospital. Leapfrog says you shouldn't refuse emergency care because of a bad safety grade. They're meant to be used as a guide for planned events and a research tool for potential emergencies.

Patch reporters Dan Hampton and Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.

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