Saint Barnabas achieves consecutive ‘A’ rating from Leapfrog Group

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, was awarded its 19th consecutive “A” Hospital Safety Score rating by the Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. Saint Barnabas Medical Center is the only hospital in the state and one of only 27 in the country to earn an “A” in each report since the Leapfrog surveys began.

“Being named one of only 27 hospitals in the United States to receive 19 consecutive ‘A’ grades demonstrates the commitment and intentional focus on safety and quality by all physicians and employees of Saint Barnabas Medical Center. This achievement recognizes the high-quality, compassionate care we provide to our patients and their families every day,” SBMC President and CEO Stephen P. Zieniewicz said. “Safety is our top priority and emblematic of our commitment to being a high-reliability organization focused on achieving positive outcomes through evidence-based processes. We thank our staff for their continued dedication in providing the best-in class care with both clinical expertise and compassion, especially during the immense challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but the hospitals throughout the RWJBarnabas Health system show us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. For more information on the Leapfrog Group and the spring 2021 scores, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.