Only New Jersey Hospital to Receive Award in 2026

Browns Mills, NJ — Our patients have spoken, and the news is good. Their experiences at Deborah Heart and Lung Center have been positive, and, as a result, Deborah received a 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ from Healthgrades, a leading healthcare transparency resource for patients.

Deborah, the only hospital in New Jersey to receive this patient experience award in 2026, also earned it in 2024 and 2025.

“It is truly gratifying to receive this award from Healthgrades over three consecutive years, because it shows that Deborah consistently ensures that our patients have positive experiences,” said Jim Andrews, Deborah’s President and CEO. “The Healthgrades award considers hospital performance on multiple patient experience quality measures. This recognition puts Deborah in the top 15% of hospitals nationwide for patient experience and is a testament to the quality care Deborah provides.”

Healthgrades used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient survey to determine which hospitals across the country earned 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Awards. The survey asks patients 19 questions that fall into 10 categories: overall rating, recommendation to family/friends, communication with doctors, communication with nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, communication about medicines, cleanliness, quietness, discharge information, and care transition.

To be considered for Outstanding Patient Experience Awards, hospitals must submit at least 100 HCAHPS surveys and be in the top 80 percent of hospitals for overall clinical quality, as reported by CMS. Healthgrades evaluated surveys from 3,020 hospitals; 373 of them from 46 states received the awards in 2026.

According to Healthgrades, the best predictors of whether a patient would recommend a hospital were the quality of communication by doctors and nurses, and clear communication about discharge information.

About Deborah Heart and Lung Center

Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey, is a teaching hospital in the prevention, diagnosis, research and treatment of heart, lung and vascular diseases. Founded in 1922, Deborah has treated more than 2.3 million hearts from every corner of the United States and 87 countries. From performing the first adult and pediatric open-heart surgeries in New Jersey, to achieving the lowest open heart surgery mortality risk in the state as recognized by the New Jersey Department of Health, Deborah is consistently recognized as a leader overall and in patient care from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It is ranked among the top hospitals in New Jersey for patient satisfaction; holds a top-tier Society of Thoracic Surgeons rating which places Deborah among the best cardiac surgery programs in North America; and is rated High Performing in five specialties, Heart Arrhythmia, Heart Attack, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, and Pacemaker Implantation by U.S. News & World Report.

About Healthgrades

Healthgrades is dedicated to empowering meaningful connections between patients, doctors, and hospitals. As the #1 platform for finding a doctor and a leader in healthcare transparency, we help millions of consumers each month find and schedule appointments with their healthcare professional of choice and prepare for their appointments with best-in-class, treatment-focused content.