The low score does not mean every New Jersey hospital delivers poor care, but it does point to a statewide problem in how patients experience hospital stays. The ranking also shows why survey data should be read carefully.
New Jersey hospitals were ranked second-worst in the nation for patient experience in a July 28, 2026 analysis of federal survey data, averaging 2.72 out of 5. The article explains why they ranked so low: Florida ranked lower at 2.71, and New York ranked third-worst at 2.76, putting Jersey hospitals ranked near the bottom of a national comparison of more than 3,100 hospitals.
The ranking, reported by The Record and based on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services patient survey ratings analyzed by iFax, matters because patient experience scores capture how people felt about communication, responsiveness and discharge information — the everyday interactions that shape whether a hospital stay feels safe and understandable.
A narrow gap at the bottom
New Jersey’s placement was not the result of a massive numerical collapse. It was a thin-margin ranking in a crowded lower tier: Florida averaged 2.71, New Jersey 2.72 and New York 2.76.
That narrow spread cuts both ways. It means New Jersey was only a hundredth of a point above last place, but it also means the difference between the three lowest-ranked states was small. The ranking is best read as a warning light, not a complete diagnosis of hospital care.
The analysis reviewed patient ratings from more than 3,100 hospitals nationwide and calculated an average for each state. New Jersey’s statewide average landed near the bottom because its hospital list had few high-rated facilities and a sizable number of low-rated ones.
Why New Jersey scored poorly
The simplest explanation is distribution. Of the 64 New Jersey hospitals with CMS summary patient-survey ratings included in the analysis, no New Jersey hospital earned a five-star average patient rating.
Only four received four-star ratings. Meanwhile, 20 hospitals received either one-star or two-star ratings, enough to pull down the statewide average even if many other facilities sat in the middle.
City-level figures also show where the weak scores were concentrated. Newark recorded an average patient rating of 2.33 out of 5 across three hospitals. Camden and Jersey City each averaged 2.50.
Those numbers do not prove that every patient had a poor experience, and they do not capture every measure of hospital quality. They do suggest that many patients in some of New Jersey’s major hospital markets were not giving top marks to the experience of being hospitalized.
The hospitals at each end
The analysis identified four New Jersey hospitals with four-star summary patient-survey ratings from CMS:
- Valley Hospital in Paramus
- Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills
- Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch
- Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, listed in the data with Elmer
At the other end, CareWell Health Medical Center in East Orange was the only New Jersey hospital in the latest CMS data to receive a one-star summary patient-survey rating, according to the report.
Nineteen additional New Jersey hospitals received two-star ratings, including facilities in Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Camden, Elizabeth and Perth Amboy. That concentration of low ratings is the biggest clue to why the state average was so weak.
What patients are actually rating
Patient experience is not the same thing as surgical outcomes, infection rates, emergency-room wait times or whether a hospital has a nationally known specialty program. The CMS patient survey system, known as HCAHPS, is designed to capture the patient’s view of a hospital stay.
Those surveys ask about topics such as communication with doctors and nurses, whether patients got help when they needed it, how well medications and discharge instructions were explained, and the overall hospital rating.
That makes the scores meaningful in a very practical way. A patient may not be able to judge the technical quality of a procedure, but they can judge whether staff explained what was happening, responded when help was needed and prepared them to leave the hospital.
For hospitals, those interactions are not soft extras. Poor communication can leave patients confused about medications, follow-up care or warning signs after discharge. Strong patient experience scores can reflect a system that is easier for patients and families to navigate.
How other states compared
The bottom of the state ranking was dominated by large or dense health care markets. Florida was lowest at 2.71, followed by New Jersey at 2.72, New York at 2.76 and Nevada at 2.81. Maryland and Delaware were listed at 2.86.
The highest-ranked states looked very different. Wisconsin led with 4.06, followed by South Dakota at 4.00 and Idaho at 3.92. Nebraska and Minnesota tied at 3.89, while Montana, Vermont and Wyoming were listed at 3.85.
That contrast raises a useful question the ranking itself does not fully answer: why do some smaller or less densely populated states score so much higher on patient experience? The data show the gap, but not a single cause behind it.
Hospital size, patient volume, staffing pressures, regional expectations and survey response patterns can all affect patient-experience results. The iFax analysis used CMS data to rank states, but it did not establish that one factor alone explains New Jersey’s position.
Why the ranking needs caution
For patients, the ranking is a reason to pay attention, not a reason to panic. A low statewide average does not mean a specific hospital is unsafe, and a high patient-experience score does not guarantee the best clinical outcome for a particular condition.
It also does not mean New Jersey lacks strong hospitals. The state is home to major health systems and specialized care centers. The issue highlighted here is narrower: patients, on average, gave New Jersey hospitals comparatively low marks for their hospital experience.
Hospitals may also argue that patient surveys are influenced by factors outside a bedside team’s control, including how sick patients are, how crowded a facility is, language access needs or delays elsewhere in the health system. Those caveats are real, but they do not erase the patient’s experience.
The unanswered questions matter. The ranking does not show whether New Jersey’s scores are improving or declining over time, which survey questions were weakest by hospital, or how the ratings line up with clinical quality measures. Until those details are examined, the clearest takeaway is also the simplest: New Jersey hospitals have a patient-experience problem to explain, and patients now have another data point to weigh before choosing where to seek care.
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