New Jersey hospitals ranked sixth best in the nation in the latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety report card measuring how well they prevent mistakes and protect patients from developing infections, falling, receiving the wrong treatment.

According to the report released Wednesday, New Jersey slipped from its first place perch earned last fall, when seven more hospitals had earned an A. Overall, 31 of the 68 hospitals graded earned an A, 27 earned a B, seven earned a C and three received a just-passing D.

Top grades represent lives saved, according to an analysis of Leapfrog’s 28 safety measures by Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Patients admitted at D and F hospitals face almost twice the risk of death than patients in “A” hospitals. Even in a B-rated hospital, patients are 35 percent more likely to die from a preventable cause.

“These safety grades translate into real lives,” said Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, which releases the report with Leapfrog, a nonprofit founded by large employers and other health care purchasers in 2000.

"Avoidable medical errors and infections in hospitals continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade provides New Jersey with useful, up-to-date information to further ensure safety and accountability when choosing a hospital.”

Leapfrog graded roughly 2,600 hospitals in the nation, with 32 percent earning an A, 26 percent earning a B, 36 earning a C, 6 percent a D and less than 1 percent flunking.

“The good news is that tens of thousands of lives have been saved because of progress on patient safety. The bad news is that there’s still a lot of needless death and harm in American hospitals,” Binder said. “Hospitals don’t all have the same track record, so it really matters which hospital people choose, which is the purpose of our Hospital Safety Grade.”

Among the notable results in New Jersey’s report, Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston is the only hospital in the state and one of 41 in the nation to earn an A in every safety report card issued since 2012.

“We are honored to be recognized and understand our responsibility and dedication to our continued journey of high reliability and exemplar outcomes for our patients and their families,” Stephen Zieniewicz said, Saint Barnabas’ president and CEO. “Our consistent A-ratings demonstrate the commitment and intentional focus on safety and quality by all physicians and employees of Saint Barnabas Medical Center.”

Eight hospitals improved their grade since the last report in November, including St. Luke’s Warren Campus in Phillipsburg, which rose from a C to A.

Hackensack Meridian Health’s Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair scored a D for the first time. Mountainside’s spokeswoman Chiara attributed the grade to Leapfrog relying on old data, which "does not reflect current improvements.”

The Leapfrog score is based on information ranging from 2015 to 2018. Marababol said even 2018 data is too old because some improvements have been implemented in the last five months. She declined to elaborate on what they were.

“The hospital strives to provide high quality care and in doing so continually evaluates process improvements and adoption of best clinical practices,” Marababol added.

No hospital received a failing grade.

Here’s how all the hospitals fared.

Hospitals that earned an A:

* Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel;

* Capital Health Medical Center - Hopewell;

* CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center;

* Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains;

* Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville;

* Community Medical Center, Toms River;

* Inspira Medical Center - Elmer;

* Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital;

* Jefferson Stratford Hospital;

* Jersey City Medical Center;

* Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune;

* Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch;

* Morristown Medical Center;

* Newark Beth Israel Medical Center;

* Newton Medical Center;

* Ocean Medical Center, Brick;

* Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Camden;

* Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro;

* Raritan Bay Medical Center of Perth Amboy;

* Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank;

* Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton;

* Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Somerville;

* Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston;

* Saint Clare’s Hospital of Denville;

* Saint Clare’s Hospital of Dover;

* Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Newark;

* Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick;

* Shore Medical Center, Somers Point;

* Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin;

* St. Luke’s Warren Campus, Phillipsburg;

* The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood.

Hospitals that earned a B:

* Atlanticare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City;

* Atlanticare Regional Medical Center, Pomona;

* Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May Courthouse;

* CarePoint Health-Christ Hospital, Jersey City;

* CarePoint Health, Hoboken University Medical Center;

* CentraState Medical Center, Freehold;

* Cooper University Hospital, Camden;

* Englewood Hospital and Medical Center;

* Hackensack University Medical Center;

* Hackensack University Medical Centers-Palisades, North Bergen;

* Hackensack University Medical Center at Pascack Valley;

* Hackettstown Regional Medical Center;

* Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck;

* Inspira Medical Center, Vineland;

* Inspira Medical Center Woodbury;

* Jefferson Washington Township Hospital;

* JFK Medical Center, Edison;

* Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Willingboro;

* Overlook Medical Center, Summit;

* Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge;

* Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick;

* Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital-Rahway;

* St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton;

* St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson;

* St. Mary’s General Hospital, Passaic.

* Virtua Marlton Hospital;

* Virtua Voorhees Hospital.

Hospitals with a C:

* Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton;

* Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus;

* Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington;

* Salem Medical Center;

* St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital;

* Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth;

* Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly.

Hospitals with a D:

* East Orange General Hospital;

* Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center;

* University Hospital, Newark.

A year ago, University Hospital received an F, which was partially responsible for a major management upheaval at the state’s only public hospital and New Jersey’s largest provider of care for uninsured people. There is now a new hospital board chairwoman, a new acting CEO and come July, Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal will take over running the hospital.

“University Hospital continues to focus on building the structures and processes that lead to high quality, safe, and reliable care for the Newark community and every patient we treat," Chief Medical Officer Lawrence Ramunno said in a statement. "We are encouraged by improvements in key metrics that make up the cumulative grade but know that our efforts to improve must keep intensifying. As the hospital’s strategic plan is finalized and implemented, we are confident that the hospital will become a premier health care institution in New Jersey.”

Find the entire report at hospitalsafetygrade.org.

“We’re pleased with the high rate of Leapfrog survey participation and the number of New Jersey hospitals committed to safety and transparency,” Schwimmer said. “Yet we still have concerns about some poorly rated hospitals and we hope those low safety grades galvanize their hospital leaders to make a true and sustained commitment to improving quality and safety.”

Oregon, Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts and Utah ranked the highest in the report. Wyoming, Arkansas, Washington, D.C., Delaware and North Dakota ranked the lowest.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.