On the heels of celebrating its 80th anniversary, Providence Saint John’s tradition of excellence continued this winter as the health center was named a Best Hospital for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, earning a High Performance rating for its dedication to providing high-quality services to women and their families.
For the 2022-23 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated nearly 650 hospitals across the United States that provide labor and delivery services and submitted detailed data to the publication for analysis. Fewer than 300 hospitals received a High Performing designation, which is the highest award a hospital can earn in maternity care.
Providence Saint John’s team of experts include board-certified obstetricians available 24/7 in the Labor and Delivery Unit, world-class neonatologists in the Level III NICU and compassionate nursing teams who partner with expectant parents and respect each family’s individualized birth plan.
“The Best Hospital for Maternity Care honor not only considers hospitals’ quality metrics and patient outcomes, but also includes essential information patients look for when choosing where to have a baby,” said Michael Ricks, chief executive of Providence Saint John’s Health Center. “Each year our hospital helps welcome more than 2,000 babies into the world, and we are thrilled to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to providing compassionate, leading-edge care to our families.”
The Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates and early elective delivery rates, among others, according to U.S. News.
This year’s methodology also included four new factors, including episiotomy rates, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rates, and whether each hospital met new federal criteria for “birthing-friendly” practices. The rankings also recognized hospitals that tracked and reported their outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities.
“Identifying racial disparities in maternity care is a vital step toward achieving health equity,” said Min Hee Seo, senior health data scientist at U.S. News. “The new measures provide expectant parents with many important data points, such as whether hospitals implemented patient safety practices, to assist them in making a decision about where to receive maternity care.”
For more information, visit Best Hospitals for Maternity Care and use #BestMaternityHospitals on Facebook and Twitter.
