Clara Maass Medical Center Delivers Industry-leading Outcomes in Bariatric Surgery
Belleville, New Jersey – November 2, 2022 – Clara Maass Medical Center today announced it is five-star rated for Bariatric Surgery for the seventh consecutive year, according to new research released by Healthgrades, a leading provider of health care information.
This five-star rating reflects Clara Maass Medical Center’s dedication to delivering better-than-expected clinical outcomes for Bariatric Surgery and distinguishes Clara Maass as one of the nation’s leading hospitals for specialty care.
“We are so pleased that Healthgrades has recognized us once again for providing our bariatric patients with excellent care. It is an honor to receive this distinction for the seventh consecutive year. Our goal is to deliver world-class health care to every patient who walks through our doors,” said Mary Ellen Clyne, President and Chief Executive Officer, Clara Maass Medical Center.
Healthgrades evaluated patient mortality and complication rates for 31 common conditions and procedures at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide to identify the top-performing hospitals for bariatric surgery.
This year’s analysis revealed significant variation in patient outcomes between five-star hospitals and one-star hospitals. From 2019 through 2021, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to five-star hospitals, on average, 201,586 lives could potentially have been saved, and 160,498 patients could have avoided potential complications.*
For the 2023 Bariatric Surgery Report, Healthgrades compared hospitals with statistically better than expected performance (5-stars), as a group, to those with statistically worse than expected performance (1-star), as a group, and found that from 2018-2020, patients having a Bariatric Surgery in hospitals with 5-stars have, on average, a 76.2% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated by hospitals with 1-star.*
Additionally, from 2018-2020, patients having a Bariatric Surgery in hospitals receiving 1-star are, on average, 4.2 times more likely to experience one or more complications than if they were treated in hospitals with 5-stars.*
“We commend Clara Maass Medical Center for their ongoing commitment to providing high-quality care to patients undergoing Bariatric Surgery,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades. “Consumers can feel confident that hospitals with five-star ratings by Healthgrades have demonstrated their ability to deliver consistently exceptional outcomes.”
*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2019 through 2021 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 2019 through 2021.
About Clara Maass Medical Center
Founded in 1869 as the Newark German Hospital, Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is celebrating more than 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, Elective 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 an excellent 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 RWJBarnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering eight counties with five million people. The system includes twelve acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton in Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway in Rahway, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville; Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth; three acute care children's hospitals; Children’s Specialized Hospital, including a network of outpatient centers; a behavioral health center and the state’s largest behavioral health network; two trauma centers; a satellite emergency department; ambulatory care centers; geriatric centers; comprehensive home care and hospice programs; fitness and wellness centers; retail pharmacy services; an affiliated medical group; multi-site imaging centers; and two accountable care organizations.
RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers – with more than 38,000 employees and 9,000 physicians – and routinely captures national awards for outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health, in partnership with Rutgers University, is New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers’ education, research, and clinical activities, including those at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – the state's only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center – and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.
Media Contact
Carrie Snow
973-450-2989
carrie.snow@rwjbh.org