This Union County Hospital Earns 'A' Grade For Safety

SUMMIT, NJ — Overlook Medical Center received an "A" grade in hospital safety, according to the spring 2025 Hospital Safety Grades released Thursday by The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit healthcare watchdog.

"A commitment to patient safety and the highest quality care are always the top priorities for our incredible physicians, nurses and other team members," said Scott Leighty, Executive Vice President and Chief Health System Officer, Atlantic Health System. "Thank you to the Leapfrog Group for recognizing the extraordinary work our team does and congratulations to everyone at Morristown, Overlook and Chilton for their commitment to outstanding patient care."

The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2025 Hospital Safety Grades are a biannual ranking that assigns a “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” to all general hospitals in the United States based on their ability to protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

According to the safety grades, 18 hospitals received a "B" and 12 got a "C."

New Jersey ranks third among all states for the percentage of hospitals receiving “A” grades in the spring 2025 report card.

Here is a look at how Overlook Medical Center performed in the following five categories:

Infections

• MRSA Infection - Better Than Average
• C. diff Infection - Average
• Infection in the blood - Average
• Infection in the urinary tract - Average
• Surgical site infection after colon surgery - Average
• Sepsis infection after surgery - Average

Problems with Surgery

• Dangerous object left in patient's body - Better Than Average
• Surgical wound splits open - Average
• Death from serious treatable complications - Better Than Average
• Blood Leakage - Worse Than Average
• Kidney injury after surgery - Better Than Average
• Serious breathing problem - Average
• Accidental cuts and tears - Better Than Average

Safety problems

• Harmful events - Better Than Average
• Dangerous bed sores - Average
• Patient falls and injuries - Average
• Falls causing broken hips - Better Than Average
• Collapsed lung - Worse Than Average
• Dangerous blood clot - Better Than Average
• Air or gas bubble in the blood - Better Than Average

Practices to Prevent Errors

• Doctors order medications through a computer - Better Than Average
• Safe medication administration - Better Than Average
• Handwashing - Better Than Average
• Communication about medicines - Worse Than Average
• Communication about discharge - Average
• Staff work together to prevent errors - Better Than Average

Doctors, Nurses and Hospital Staff

• Effective leadership to prevent errors - Better Than Average
• Enough qualified nurses - Average
• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients - Better Than Average
• Communication with doctors - Average
• Communication with nurses - Average
• Responsiveness of hospital staff - Worse Than Average

You can see the full rankings here.

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