Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center And Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Awarded 2021 Gold Steward Award by the New Jersey Department of Health

Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center are pleased to announce its Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was awarded the 2021 Gold Steward by the New Jersey Department of Health. Both hospitals received this recognition for their dedication to antimicrobial stewardship. 

“We are proud to achieve this recognition from the New Jersey Department of Health,” said William DiStanislao, interim president, chief hospital executive, Old Bridge Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center. “We are committed to providing the highest quality and safe care to our patients.”

Antimicrobial stewardship refers to a set of The New Jersey Antimicrobial Stewardship Recognition Program recognizes excellence, encourages the development of more stewardship programs and gives much-needed recognition of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. Based on the level of difficulty of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs interventions, hospitals are awarded either the Gold, Silver or Bronze Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence.

The Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Old Bridge Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center is a team collaboration between Infectious Disease and Pharmacy. The goal of the program is to optimize antibiotic use, ensuring the right antibiotic is used for the right patient and for an appropriate duration.

The New Jersey Antimicrobial Stewardship Recognition Program was launched by the New Jersey Department of Health’s Communicable Disease Service (CDS) in 2019. The New Jersey Antimicrobial Stewardship Recognition Program acknowledges programs that have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship. The CDC’s Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship is considered the blueprint for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. 

About Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center:

For more than 100 years, Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center and Old Bridge Medical Center have provided a full continuum of health care services to residents of Central Jersey. Raritan Bay Medical Center is one of less than one percent of hospitals in the world to achieve Magnet Recognition, the “Gold Standard” for nursing practice, quality, and safety in patient care, four times. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked Raritan Bay Medical Center as high performing in Orthopedics, Nephrology, COPD and Heart Failure.  

The medical center is a New Jersey state designated Primary Stroke Center and recipient of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, recognizing optimal treatment of stroke patients. Raritan Bay is also a recipient of the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the AHA’s Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers and the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award recognizing high-quality care of patients experiencing a severe heart attack.

For more information, visit www.rbmc.org.