CentraState Medical Center Has 'C' Rating In Safety Grades Report

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J.— CentraState Medical Center, which scored a "C" ranking of hospitals in a report released recently by the health care watchdog The Leapfrog Group, takes issue with the rating.

"As a High Reliability Organization with numerous safety programs in place, CentraState’s executive leadership and care team are disappointed with this grade and feel it does not accurately reflect our true safety profile nor our dedication to the care of our patients," said Karen Freeman, vice president Quality and Patient Safety, CentraState Healthcare System.

"We are extremely proud of our staff and physician partners, particularly this year, who have done an extraordinary job in treating and keeping our patients safe amid the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our focus remains on providing the safest care and achieving the best outcomes for our patients," she added.

CentraState is in partnership with the Atlantic Health System.

According to the Leapfrog report, the only category in which CentraState did not match the best hospitals was in the Safety Problems category that includes various types of issues, such as falls or clotting. The hospital matched the best hospitals in terms of staff practices, infections, practices to prevent errors and problems with surgery.

Several other hospitals in New Jersey received 'A" grades, including Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank and Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel. Bayshore, Riverview and Jersey Shore University medical centers are part of Hackensack Meridian Health. Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, part of RWJBarnabas Health, was also ranked "A."

The Spring 2022 Hospital Safety Grades report released by the independent nonprofit group shows the pandemic took a toll.

The latest ratings reflect care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Leapfrog Group said its and other groups' research showed the pandemic reversed years of progress in patient safety.The pandemic has had a negative effect on "health care delivery at every level and setting, from staffing shortages to increased infections to the very care patients receive," according to the Adult Patient Experience at Acute Care Hospitals survey, also released Tuesday by The Leapfrog Group.

"The health care workforce has faced unprecedented levels of pressure during the pandemic, and as a result, patients' experience with their care appears to have suffered," Leapfrog Group CEO Leah Binder said in a news release. "We commend the workforce for their heroic efforts these past few years and now strongly urge hospital leadership to recommit to improved care — from communication to responsiveness — and get back on track with patient safety outcomes."In New Jersey, 30 hospitals received an "A" grade, 16 got a "B," 19 earned a "C" and four received a "D."

Here are the rankings, according to Leapfrog:A

• Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel
• Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell, Pennington
• Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains
• Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
• Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen
• Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood
• Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center, Brick
• Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center
• Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy
• Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington
• Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill
• Inspira Medical Center Vineland
• Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital
• Jefferson Stratford Hospital
• Jefferson Washington Township Hospital, Turnersville
• Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune
• Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch
• Morristown Medical Center
• Newton Medical Center
• Overlook Medical Center, Summit
• Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro
• Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway
• Saint Clare's Hospital of Denville
• Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark
• Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick
• St. Luke's Warren Campus, Phillipsburg
• St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic
• The Valley Hospital Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Voorhees

B

• Atlanticare Regional Medical Center-Mainland Campus, Pomona
• Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May Court House
• Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton
• Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville
• Community Medical Center, Toms River
• Hackensack University Medical Center
• Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus
• Inspira Medical Center Elmer
• Jersey City Medical Center
• JFK University Medical Center, Edison
• Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Lakewood
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Somerville
• Saint Clare's Hospital of Dover
• Virtua Marlton Hospital

C

• Atlanticare Regional Medical Center - City Campus, Atlantic City
• CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center
• CarePoint Health-Christ Hospital, Jersey City
• Carepoint Health-Hoboken University Medical Center
• CentraState Medical Center, Freehold
• Cooper University Hospital, Camden
• Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston
• Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center, Montclair
• Hackettstown Regional Medical Center
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick
• Salem Medical Center
• Shore Medical Center, Somers Point
• Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin
• St. Francis Medical Center of Trenton
• Trinitas Regional Medical Center RWJBH, Elizabeth
• University Hospital, Newark
• Virtua Mount Holly Hospital
• Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden
• Virtua Willingboro Hospital

D

• CareWell Health Medical Center, East Orange
• Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck
• St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson
• St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center

The letter grades assigned to nearly 3,000 U.S general hospitals were based on more than 30 measures of patient safety. Leapfrog says its hospital rating system is the only one in the country focusing solely on a hospital's ability to protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
Included in the 30 are five that research has shown to directly affect patient outcomes, but can be improved with greater communication between caregivers and patients — the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, infections from colon surgery, MRSA (Staphylococcus) blood laboratory-identified events and facility-wide inpatient diarrhea events.
When there's communication about medications, for example, that can lead to fewer hospitalizations for conditions such as sepsis and blood clots, fewer complications and decreases in the incidence of respiratory failure, Leapfrog said.Among the findings:

• Thirty-three percent of hospitals received an "A," 24 percent received a "B," 36 percent received a "C," 7 percent received a "D." and fewer than 1 percent received an "F".
• The states with the highest percentages of "A" hospitals are North Carolina, Virginia, Utah, Colorado and Michigan.
• There were no "A" hospitals in Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota or the District of Columbia.

To determine each hospital's grade, a panel of medical experts selected 30 evidence-based measures of patient safety such as postoperative sepsis, blood leakage and kidney injury. They then determined the weight of each measure based on evidence, opportunity for improvement and patient impact.Data on each measure was collected through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Information from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, available to all hospitals to complete, also affects grades.Currently, Leapfrog does not assign grades to military or Veterans Administration hospitals, critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, children's hospitals or outpatient surgery centers.The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade methodology has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Patient Safety.The full methodology for the 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is available online.