Awards and Distinctions
RWJBarnabas Health is recognized as a leading academic health care system, having received many recognitions, including:
Overall

Several RWJBarnabas Health facilities received regional, state, and specialty recognition by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022-2023 “Best Hospitals” list. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick (RWJUH) was ranked in the Top 5 in NJ and a Top 20 Regional Best Hospital in the NY-Metro area and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey received a High Performing rating for earning the highest score in NJ – one of only 92 cancer programs nationwide to achieve this. In its Best Hospitals for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy), four facilities were designated as High Performing.

RWJBarnabas Health children’s hospitals were named among the nation’s Best Children’s Hospitals for 2023/2024 by U.S. News & World Report. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital ranked #34 nationally for orthopedics and ranked #47 for urology. The Urology ranking recognizes a four-hospital practice that is based at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital but that also provides care at three other RWJBarnabas Health hospitals – with Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, McMullen Children’s Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, and Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center. Additionally, BMSCH was ranked #2 in NJ and #15 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

In 2023, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center was named by Newsweek as one of the World’s Best Hospitals for the fifth consecutive year and Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center were both named Newsweek’s 2023 list of America’s Best Maternity Care Hospitals. In addition, Children’s Specialized Hospital has been recognized on Newsweek’s list of World’s Best Specialized Hospitals and RWJUH New Brunswick also received Newsweek America’s Best award for Ambulatory Surgery Centers in NJ in 2023 for the second year in a row.

RWJBarnabas Health received 32 awards and recognitions from the Healthgrades 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards for superior clinical performance in numerous specialty care areas, including cardiac, critical care, and surgical care – with several facilities recognized as top 5 and top 10 percent in the nation. Highlights include: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center was named one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Pulmonary Care™, one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™, one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care™, and one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Surgery™. Community Medical Center is the only hospital in NJ to earn a Surgical Care Excellence Award and was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Surgical Care.

For 2022, RWJBarnabas Health was recognized by healthcare supply chain leader Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) with the GHXcellence Award for “Healthcare Provider of the Year – Large” for the second consecutive year and was also recognized by GHX as a “Best 50” healthcare provider for the fifth consecutive year for its commitment to a supply chain strategy that removes waste, drives efficiencies and, as a result, raises the quality of patient care delivered. Additionally, RWJBarnabas Health was named to the 2022 GHX Millennium Club which recognizes healthcare provider and supplier organizations that generate more than one million automated transactions annually through the GHX Exchange.

Numerous facilities received the Gold Seal of Approval by the Joint Commission for various programs including joint replacement; disease-specific certifications in acute coronary syndrome, cardiac rehabilitation, and heart failure; advanced certification in palliative care; bariatric surgery; and stroke program.

All RWJBarnabas Health facilities were named to CHIME Healthcare’s 2022 Most Wired – 11 of which were awarded certification Performance Excellence Levels of eight and above – for their use of information technology to better the patient experience.
Quality

In Spring 2023, four RWJBarnabas Health facilities received an “A” grade including Monmouth Medical Center (MMC), the only facility in the region to achieve 17 consecutive “A” ratings, Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway. Six RWJBarnabas Health facilities received “B” ratings. Additionally, MMC was named as a Best Hospital in America for teaching in July.

In 2023, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital was named to Money’s inaugural list of Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery. Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) was named to Money’s inaugural list of the Best Hospitals in America, created in partnership with The Leapfrog Group. MMC, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset were named to Money’s 2022 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list – among just 259 hospitals to receive the award.

In August 2022, RWJBarnabas Health was granted accreditation for nursing continuing professional development from the ANCC for its commitment to using evidence-based criteria when developing high-quality educational activities that promote the professional growth of nurses.

Several practices within the Combined Medical Group of RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Health received the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition, which emphasizes the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement.

In 2022, seven RWJBarnabas Health facilities were awarded Gold recognition for their Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs from the New Jersey Department of Health; Monmouth Medical Center has continued to receive Gold since the establishment of the awards program in 2019.

Six RWJBarnabas Health facilities have achieved Magnet recognition for excellence in nursing; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick received this recognition six consecutive times – making it one of only seven institutions globally to achieve this distinction.
Specialty Care

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, together with RWJBarnabas Health, is New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Care Center – recognized for its clinical and scientific research leadership.

Six RWJBarnabas Health facilities received recognition for stroke care, earning a spot on the American Stroke Association 2023 Get With The Guidelines® list, for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick, RWJUH Somerset and Jersey City Medical Center each received the Gold Award. Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center received the Silver Plus Award and Clara Maass Medical Center received the Siler Award.

In 2022, ten RWJBarnabas Health facilities were named “Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation – the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization – recognizing healthcare institutions that are leaders in efforts to offer equitable care to LGBTQ+ patients by evaluating inclusive policies and practices related to LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees.
Workforce

In 2023, RWJBarnabas Health was recognized with a 5-star rating on the inaugural list of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity by Newsweek – a scored list of companies that employees say really respect and value different kinds of people.

In 2021, RWJBarnabas Health was recognized by Forbes as America’s Best-In-State Employer for the second consecutive year.

RWJBarnabas Health is a CEO Cancer Gold Standard employer, an accreditation awarded by the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, for its dedication and commitment to maintaining a high standard of excellence in cancer prevention, early detection, and quality care for its employees and families.
Other Awards and Distinctions
RWJBarnabas Health and its facilities received other awards and distinctions in the following categories:

Excellence in Cardiac Care – In 2023, RWJBarnabas Health has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of “100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Heart Programs". Healthcare organizations included on the list are renowned for their exemplary heart care, patient outcomes and leading technologies. RWJBarnabas Health is home to one of the top ten largest heart transplant programs in total transplanted adult heart volume in the nation, and the most comprehensive pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery programs in the state of New Jersey. The system’s four principal heart centers, including Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Jersey City Medical Center, are each individually award-winning cardiac hospitals with an integrated and expert team of cardiac specialists.
- Excellence in Geriatric Care – Nine facilities were recognized as NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Health system Elders) hospitals, by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, for recognizing for distinguishing that older adult patients have specialized needs and that patient- and family-centered care is imperative to creating a positive experience for the older adult patient.
- Excellence in Cancer Care – Ten facilities received accreditation from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer; the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Breast Center was certified as a quality breast center of excellence by the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers – one of only the first two New Jersey facilities and only a few in the nation to achieve this top certification level offered – and a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Commission on Quality and Safety and the Commission on Breast Imaging; the first facility in NJ and 20th in the US to earn this designation.
- Excellence in Bariatric Surgery – Eight facilities were accredited as comprehensive centers for bariatric and metabolic surgery of the American College of Surgeons by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.
- Excellence in LGBTQ+ Care – RWJBarnabas Health was honored with the Corporate Responsibility Award by Garden State Equality for its commitment to providing culturally sensitive, compassionate, and inclusive care for the LGBTQ community through ongoing initiatives.
- Excellence in Pediatric and Adolescent Robotic Surgery – The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital has achieved the first-ever Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) accreditation in 2023 as a Center of Excellence in Pediatric and Robotic Surgery in the United States. This designation recognizes BMSCH’s commitment to a high standard of delivery of quality patient care and safety, and means that BMSCH has met nationally and internationally recognized standards.
- Hospitals of Excellence – In 2020, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick was named to Becker’s 100 Great Hospitals in America, recognizing its excellence in clinical care, patient outcomes, and staff and physician satisfaction. Additionally, Jersey City Medical Center earned accreditations for its Primary Stroke Center and hip and knee replacement program as well as an ISO 9001 certification – which demonstrates an organization’s ability to consistently meet high customer and regulatory standards for service – from DNV, a world-leading certification body committed to supporting the development and continual improvement of healthcare quality and patient safety.
- Excellence in Emergency Care – The Emergency Department at Monmouth Medical Center was one of 34 U.S. hospitals to be honored by the Emergency Nurses Association with its 2022 Lantern Award – recognizing its emergency department for demonstrating exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research.
For a list of the awards and recognitions at our facilities, please click on the corresponding links below:
- Children's Specialized Hospital
- Clara Maass Medical Center
- Community Medical Center
-
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center
(formerly Saint Barnabas Medical Center) - Jersey City Medical Center
- Monmouth Medical Center
- Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus
- Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway
- Robert Wood University Hospital Somerset
- Trinitas Regional Medical Center