St. Jude Medical Center has been named one of the best places in America to have a baby. The hospital received the 2018 Women’s Choice Award as one of the country’s best hospitals in obstetrics for the third year.
The Women’s Choice Award is the only evidence-based award recognizing excellence in maternity care based on robust criteria that includes clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and what thousands of moms say they want from a hospital.
“This recognition reaffirms that St. Jude Medical Center is a leader in offering the absolute best care to mother and newborn,” said Brian Helleland, Chief Executive. “From sophisticated monitoring and management of high risk pregnancies, to new approaches to helping newborns thrive, our doctors and nurses are experts in creating successful beginnings for families across Orange County.”
More than 2,000 babies were born at St. Jude Medical Center in 2017. The hospital’s family-centered approach includes spacious private delivery suites, innovative mother-baby bonding techniques, individualized support for new moms interested in breastfeeding, and a highly experienced staff committed to offering the best possible birth experience for mothers and their families. The hospital also offers a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a Fetal Diagnostic Center staffed by nationally-recognized perinatologists to manage high risk pregnancies; and a comprehensive array of classes and workshops, from newborn basics and mommy-and-me yoga to a unique breastfeeding support group for new moms.
“Pregnancy is one of the most special times in a woman’s life,” said Delia Passi, CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “This recognition gives women the confidence that her choice of a hospital for her delivery will be the best in terms of quality care and patient safety for her and her baby. As the trend of women waiting longer to start their families continues, having the Women’s Choice Award seal is especially important for older moms who face increased risk and often need a top hospital.”
Among the criteria St. Jude met to receive the award:
· High patient satisfaction as reported by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey.
· Strong patient safety, including unusually low complication and infection rates, based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quality measures
· Low rates of early elective deliveries (between 0-1 percent)
· Presence of a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
· Baby-Friendly USA designation, a national recognition of hospitals using best practices to help new moms successfully breastfeed
For more information on America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics, visithttps://www.womenschoiceaward.com/best-hospitals/
About St. Jude Medical Center
St. Jude Medical Center is a faith-based 320-bed tertiary care hospital in Fullerton, California. Established in 1957 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, the Magnet-designated hospital has earned a reputation for clinical excellence and nationally-recognized programs, including being named one of California’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The nonprofit medical center was recognized by The Leapfrog Group for meeting the nation’s highest safety standards and is one of only 150 hospitals in the nation to be designated an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. Additional honors include being one of just 62 U.S. hospitals to earn Advanced Certification from The Joint Commission for exceptional knee and hip joint replacement services, as well as one of the select hospitals to earn the Beacon Award for Excellence in Critical Care.
Drawing patients from all over Southern California, St. Jude Medical Center offers centers of excellence in neurosciences, stroke, digestive diseases, cancer, orthopedics, maternal/newborn, robotic and minimally-invasive surgery, cardiac care, and rehabilitation. Please visit stjudemedicalcenter.org for more information.
About The Women’s Choice Award
The Women’s Choice Award is a trusted referral source, empowering women to make smart healthcare choices by identifying the country’s best healthcare institutions based on criteria that consider patient satisfaction and clinical excellence. The Award’s methodology is objective, replicable and relies on the most recent publically available data. The Women’s Choice Award was recently honored by the INC 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for a third consecutive year. Visithttp://www.womenschoiceaward.com to learn more.
