Southern Ocean Medical Center Receives A Grade From Nonprofit

MANAHAWKIN, NJ - Southern Ocean Medical Center has received an A grade for patient safety from a nonprofit founded by employers and healthcare providers to track and rate hospital care, the organization said Tuesday.

It was a step up for the medical center on Route 72 West in Southern Ocean County, which is part of the Hackensack Meridian Health network. The hospital received C grades all through 2016, 2015 and 2014.

The Leapfrog Group, which has been ranking hospitals for several years, announced its Fall 2017 safety grades for more than 2,600 hospitals across the nation, including 68 in New Jersey.

Thirty hospitals in New Jersey received an A grade, including Southern Ocean Medical Center. The hospitals were given a letter grade from A through F based on several factors, including medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

The goal is to determine what a patient's risk of further injury or infection is if they visit a certain hospital, the Leapfrog group says.

"Errors and infections in hospitals are the third leading cause of death in America, and people deserve to know which of their hospitals are best at preventing them," Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, said in a news release.

Hackensack University Medical Center, Bayshore Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center all received a "A" grades, said Robert C. Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.

"We are proud to receive "A" grades from The Leapfrog Group for four of our hospitals and excited on the overall improvement of the Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals," Garrett said. "These hard-earned grades are evidence of the outstanding efforts made by our clinical and quality teams to improve patient safety and clinical quality throughout our network."

Southern Ocean Medical Center scored very well in preventing blood and urinary tract infections in intensive care units. To check the fall rating in the various factors for Southern Ocean Medical Center, click here.

Photo: Courtesy of Southern Ocean Medical Center