Belleville, NJ — Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is included as one of only 101 hospitals in the U.S. on Money.com’s first-ever Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery list. Money.com, in partnership with The Leapfrog Group, announced the Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery list in January 2023. The 101 hospitals that earned this distinction achieve Leapfrog's standards for safety, including performing a high enough number of the procedures to give patients the best odds of a good outcome, and keeping patients safe from errors, infections, and complications.
A second RWJBarnabas Health facility, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, was also recognized for their Bariatric Surgery Program performance.
“We are incredibly proud to have Clara Maass included on Money.com’s first-ever Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery list,” said Mary Ellen Clyne, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Clara Maass Medical Center. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and physicians, who are committed to providing our patients the highest quality of care. We are honored to have met the stringent safety standards set by Leapfrog and will continue to prioritize patient safety and positive outcomes for our bariatric surgery patients.”
Studies show that the experience of both the hospital personnel involved in the procedure and recovery, as well as the surgeon, help keep patients safer during and after this high-risk surgery. Hospitals on this prestigious list meet Leapfrog standards for the number of bariatric procedures performed at the hospital and by individual surgeons. The hospitals also utilize a safe surgery checklist, prevent health care-associated infections, and perform well on the bi-annual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade which assigns a letter grade to all general acute care hospitals in the U.S. based on how well they protect patients from preventable harm.
“This new list features one-of-a-kind selections that gives readers an excellent look at one of the most difficult surgeries to perform,” says Money's Executive Editor Mike Ayers. “We are proud of honor hospitals like Clara Maass Medical Center with this distinction.”
Patients who have bariatric surgery for weight loss performed at a hospital and by a surgeon that have more experience have better, more positive outcomes — including lower mortality rates, lower complication rates and a shorter length of stay at the hospital.
In addition to earning Money.com’s Best Hospital for Bariatric Surgery distinction, Clara Maass Medical Center is also a five-star recipient for Bariatric Surgery by Healthgrades for seven years in a row (2017 to 2023).
Learn more about bariatric surgery at Clara Maass Medical Center.
About Clara Maass Medical Center
Founded in 1869 as the Newark German Hospital, Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is celebrating 150 years of service to the community. Conveniently located in Belleville, NJ, Clara Maass Medical Center is a 472-bed hospital that offers a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey.
Clara Maass Medical Center has completed a state-of-the-art campus expansion of its Emergency Department, Operating Rooms and Post Anesthesia Care Unit with the addition of a four-story, 87,000 square foot medical office building that features a private Intensive Care Unit, main entrance and lobby, retail pharmacy and patient registration area. Designated by the New Jersey Department of Health as a Primary Stroke Center, the Medical Center has earned national recognition in patient safety and quality from Healthgrades and The Leapfrog Group.
The Medical Center leads the state in performing advanced treatment in ophthalmology and has earned certifications in Disease-Specific Care from The Joint Commission in Acute Coronary Syndrome, Congestive Heart Failure, Hip and Knee Replacement, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Advanced Certification in Palliative Care, and has earned accreditation in Bariatric Surgery by the Aetna Institute of Quality program. In partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Clara Maass Medical Center offers a world-class team of researchers and specialists to fight most types of cancer, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials. Committed to the health and wellness of its community, the Center of Excellence for Latino Health at Clara Maass Medical Center was established to address the social determinants of health within the local Hispanic community.
The first in the country to be named for a nurse, the hospitals’ namesake, Clara Louise Maass was posthumously inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
About MONEY
Money has a 50-year legacy of guiding people to financial victories with up-to-date information, education, and tools. Money, a digital platform, helps create richer lives for everyone – in every sense of the word. Signature franchises include a bevy of Best-In categories such as Best Places to Live, Best Crypto Exchanges, Best Mortgage Lenders, Best Life Insurance, Best Auto Insurance, Best VA Loans, Best Homeowner Insurance, Best High-Yield Savings Accounts, Best Credit Cards, Best Colleges, Best Student Loans, and Best Student Loan Refinance Companies, with an aim to improve your finances and promote your well-being. For more information, visit Money.com.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit with a mission of giant leaps for patient safety. 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. For more, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter.
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