Freehold's CentraState Again Rates 'C' In Hospital Care Survey

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — CentraState Medical Center has received a C rating in the spring 2023 hospital safety grades report released this week by the Leapfrog Group, consistent with recent ratings for the hospital.

A report by Leapfrog, an independent nonprofit health care watchdog, is released every six months.

Overall, New Jersey led the country in the number of hospitals receiving an A grade, compared to the fall when the state had the sixth-most A-rated.

The specific CentraState report can be found by clicking here.

Infections and safety problems were the two general areas in which the hospital did not perform as well as the best rated hospitals, according to the report. CentraState in Freehold Township is part of the Atlantic Health System.

But Tom Scott, CentraState president and CEO, said the hospital should see an improvement as more recent data is reflected in the report.

"Current Leapfrog grades reflect data from 2017 to 2019, where the most weighted section of the survey included pressure injuries. Since then, we have employed several clinical protocols regarding that measure that have shown great improvement, that we anticipate will be reflected in future grades once the older data cycles off," Scott said.

He said CentraState performs "continuous, rigorous reviews of quality and safety measures to ensure that physicians, nurses and staff deliver outstanding care to all patients."

Meanwhile, more than half of New Jersey hospitals received top grades in protecting patient safety, the report noted, including several in the Monmouth County area.

Locally, Hackensack Meridian Hospitals, including Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel and Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank and Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, received A ratings. Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, part of RWJ Barnabas Health, also received an A grade, according to the report.

But based on some Leapfrog findings, there are still areas of concern nationally.

For example, the average risk of contracting deadly infections remained elevated after spiking to a five-year high during the COVID pandemic, according to the report.

Patient experience measures, such as communication from doctors, also declined, according to the report.

The Leapfrog Group uses an academic grading scale with five letter grades to score nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide 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.

In New Jersey, 31 hospitals received an A, 17 hospitals received a B, 11 hospitals received a C and zero hospitals received a D grade. No hospitals received an F.

A spokesman for Hackensack Meridian Health noted that nine of its network hospitals have been awarded an A grade, the most A grades of any health system in New Jersey.

“Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to providing exceptional, compassionate, safe care,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health, ina news release. "This recognition from The Leapfrog Group underscores that our hospitals are the safest in New Jersey, and we are proud to have helped make New Jersey hospitals among the safest in the nation.

The new grades reflect performance primarily during the height of the pandemic. The network’s hospitals recognized by the Leapfrog Group for Spring 2023 include:

• Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel, A
• Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, A
• Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, A

Also, some nearby Hackensack Meridian hospitals received A grades:

• Ocean University Medical Center, Brick, A
• Old Bridge Medical Center, A
• Raritan Bay Medical Center, A

“Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals are among the safest in New Jersey and the nation,” said Jose Azar, M.D., executive vice president and chief quality officer for Hackensack Meridian Health.

"We are incredibly proud of the Hospital Safety Grades our hospitals have achieved and very grateful for our caregivers' dedication to patient safety. We look forward to continuing to deliver strong outcomes for our patients."

State editor Michelle Rotuno-Johnson contributed to this report.