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Three Atlantic Health System hospitals earn 2021 Leapfrog Top Hospital award for outstanding quality and safety

December 7, 2021

MORRISTOWN, NJ – DECEMBER 7, 2021 – Highlighting their nationally recognized achievements in patient safety and quality, three Atlantic Health System hospitals were named Top Hospitals by The Leapfrog Group. Morristown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center were named Top Teaching Hospitals, and Chilton Medical Center was named a Top General Hospital.

Announced today, the Leapfrog Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. The Top Hospital designation is bestowed by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers recognized as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.

More than 2,200 hospitals were considered for the award. A total of 149 hospitals nationwide were selected as Top Hospitals, including 72 Top Teaching Hospitals and 46 Top General Hospitals.

“Our strategy for building healthier communities is founded on our commitment to delivering extraordinary caring today while training and developing the healthcare professionals of tomorrow,” said Brian Gragnolati, President and CEO, Atlantic Health System. “Congratulations to the Morristown, Overlook and Chilton teams on this remarkable recognition. I am grateful for your tireless commitment to our patients, communities and caregivers.”

Leaders in Medical Education
Morristown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center, with their close proximity to New York City, are sought-after facilities by medical professionals at all stages of their training, including undergraduate (UME), graduate (GME), and continuing (CME) medical education. Together, these campuses train over 300 residents and fellows annually.

Residency training in dentistry, diagnostic radiology, family medicine, internal medicine, Ob/Gyn, pediatrics, podiatric surgery, and general surgery occurs at both campuses, in addition to emergency medicine and osteopathic neuromuscular medicine at Morristown Medical Center.

Morristown Medical Center also trains fellows in cardiology, emergency medical services, hematology/oncology, interventional cardiology, geriatrics, pediatrics/emergency medicine, sports medicine, and urogynecology.

Atlantic Health System's major medical school affiliation is with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Additional affiliations with Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and St. George’s University School of Medicine bring a total of 90 to 100 medical students to its campuses at any given time.

Rising Leader in Care
Chilton Medical Center was one of only two hospitals in New Jersey to receive Leapfrog’s Top General Hospital recognition. Additionally, Chilton was also named #1 mid-size hospital in New Jersey by Castle Connolly for the past six years and a high-performing hospital in multiple specialties by U.S. News & World Report.

Chilton has undergone significant enhancements in recent years, including the renovation of its ICU, the development of a progressive care nursing unit contiguous to the ICU, a modernization project for the emergency department, a renovated lobby and access center, and the opening of The Children’s Center, an innovative and dedicated center that combines both pediatric emergency services and inpatient hospital care in one, family-friendly facility.

Both Chilton and Overlook last year joined Morristown Medical Center in achieving Magnet Designation for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Morristown, Overlook and Chilton all earned the highest possible safety rating of ‘A’ by The Leapfrog Group in its Spring and Fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grades.

The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, surgery, maternity care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication and other errors. The rigorous standards are defined in each year’s Top Hospital Methodology.

“We are pleased to recognize Morristown, Overlook and Chilton medical centers as Top Hospitals this year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Even with the continued strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, these Atlantic Health System hospitals have demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to excellent health care in their communities. We congratulate the board, leadership, staff and clinicians who put their patients first.”

To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must rank top among peers on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which assesses hospital performance on the highest standards for quality and patient safety. To see the full list of institutions honored as 2021 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Atlantic Health System

Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of more than 18,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 11 counties and 4.9 million people. The not-for-profit system offers more than 400 sites of care, including seven hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ.

Atlantic Medical Group, comprised of 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, represents one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey and joins Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners as part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.

Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 16 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.

Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.

Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.

* Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2018 through 2020 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. For appendectomy and bariatric surgery, Healthgrades used inpatient data from 16 states that provide all-payer data for years 2017 through 2019. Due to the highly variable impact of the pandemic on hospital outcomes, Healthgrades made the decision to exclude cases with a COVID-19 diagnosis from the 2020 data in order to preserve the statistical integrity of our models and fairly evaluate clinical outcomes at all hospitals. To view the complete methodology, please visit: https://www.healthgrades.com/quality/ratings-awards/methodology