Morristown Hospital Graded 'C' in New National Report Card

When ranked along with more than 2,000 general hospitals in the country, Morristown Medical Center received a "C" grade on a newly released report card from Hospital Safety Score.

Data shows the hospital was scored as having a higher number of patients who develop blood clots than in the average scored hospital. However, Morristown Medical Center reported fewer falls and traumas than the average hospital and fewer accidental cuts or tears from medical treatment.

The hospital scored higher than the average hospital for its leadership structures and systems, identifications and mitigation of risks and hazards, nurse workforce and more. 

"Atlantic Health System, parent organization of Morristown Medical Center, is committed to providing the highest level of patient care and safety across all of our hospitals. We also support efforts to make health care more transparent, and recognize that regular data reporting and analysis can be helpful for hospitals to identify areas that demand further attention toward fulfilling such commitments," Pam Garretson, a spokesperson for Atlantic Health said. "However, Leapfrog’s recently issued grade for Morristown Medical Center does not reflect current patient safety and quality at the hospital, as the data used to calculate the grade is more than one year old. The hospital had already identified areas that required extra attention and has taken steps that have since yielded improvements."

In general, hospital scores from across the country show that hospitals have been working toward fewer accidents, injuries, errors or infections that kill or inflict patients, according to Hospital Safety Score. The actual scoring of the hospitals is done by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization.

A total of 2,514 general hospitals were included in the data, released Wednesday, and 780 earned an "A." Following that, 638 hospitals received a "B," 932 received a "C," 148 earned a "D," and 16 earned an "F."

As for the states with the safest hospitals, Maine came out on top with 80 percent of hospitals in the state receiving an "A" grade. Following closely behind was Massachusetts and then Minnesota, Virginia and Illinois. About 40 percent of New Jersey hospitals received "A's."

One in four hospital patients in the U.S. suffer some form of harm at the hospital, according to Leapfrog's calculations.

"Safety is a 24/7, 365-day effort.This update of grades and accompanying change in state rankings should serve as a reminder that we are on an ongoing journey,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, said. “Patient safety shouldn’t be merely a concern; it should be a priority. Everyone – including consumers, hospitals, patients, families of patients, unions and employers – has a role in improving safety in American hospitals.”