For First Time In History, Secaucus Hospital Given 'A' Grade

SECAUCUS, NJ — For the first time in the hospital's history, the Secaucus hospital has earned an "A" grade from Leapfrog hospital ratings group.

Leapfrog just released their Fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grades report Wednesday.

The Secaucus hospital earned a "B" grade in the spring of this year, after years of routinely getting "C" and "D" grades from Leapfrog.

Now that "B" has risen to "A."

It is such a turnaround that even Mayor Mike Gonnelli remarked on it Wednesday:

“On behalf of the town of Secaucus I want to congratulate Hudson Regional Hospital on becoming a 'Grade A' facility," said the mayor. "Rising from a D to an A in just four years is a significant and noteworthy accomplishment that we know required substantial investment, hard work and dedication. We are proud to be the host community for (the) hospital.”

Dr. Nizar Kifaieh remains the president and CEO at Hudson Regional — despite the fact that he was hit with a bombshell lawsuit last month alleging sexual harassment from a female ultrasound tech who worked at the hospital. He too released a statement Wednesday:

“Hudson Regional has committed since day one to providing the highest quality of care to our community. We have acquired cutting-edge technology combined with top talent providers and staff to achieve those goals," said Dr. Kifaieh. "I am proud of our Hudson Regional family of doctors, nurses, administrators, technicians, and all staff who have shown their commitment to improvement over the past five years and will continue to do so in the future."

The Secaucus hospital was purchased by real estate developer Yan Moshe in 2018; he took over operations and renamed it Hudson Regional.

This is particularly noteworthy because at the time Moshe took over ownership, the Secaucus hospital was in such poor condition that the state Department of Health was threatening to shut it down.

Also, before 2018 the previous owners refused to even work with Leapfrog or submit their patient data to the ratings agency.

With this latest round of rankings, the Secaucus hospital even outperformed Christ Hospital in Jersey City (got a "C"), the Hoboken hospital ("C") and Jersey City Medical Center ("B").

This "A" grade even puts the Secaucus town hospital on par with Palisades Medical Center and Hackensack main campus, which always gets "A" grades.

See all the 2022 Hudson County hospital rankings here: https://www.hospitalsafetygrad...

Hudson Regional improved in terms of patient safety, infection control, lowered rates of hospital re-admission, among other factors, according to Leapfrog.

“We are thankful to everyone on our staff whose teamwork made this happen,” said Moshe.

“The organization is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible," said Kristal Lopez, director of quality for Hudson Regional Hospital. “ In order to achieve this, strict practices were implemented by the leadership team and the hospital’s quality department. It is with the dedication and commitment of the entire staff that Hudson Regional Hospital is able to achieve and maintain such a great accomplishment.”

Leapfrog is a respected non-profit agency that determines hospital safety nationwide. They released their hospital grade rankings every spring and fall, and the grades are always closely watched.

Major New Jersey hospital systems such as Hackensack Meridian and RWJ Barnabas usually always get "A" grades.

Some hospitals have even sued Leapfrog when they get a "C" or "D" grade.

In New Jersey, 33 hospitals received an A, 20 hospitals received a B, 14 hospitals received a C and 3 hospitals received a D grade. Zero hospitals received an F. Here is the entire Fall 2022 New Jersey list: NJ Safest Hospitals: Latest Ratings Released For Fall