Powerful Positive Birth is possible in hospital

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Receives Top Rating for Maternity Care for Second Year in a Row from HealthGradesStudy Finds Significantly Lower Obstetric Complications in Top15% versus Bottom 15% of HospitalsBERKELEY, CA (June 30, 2009) – Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Alta Bates Campus announced today that the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company recognized them with a Five-Star Rating for Maternity Care for the second consecutive year. HealthGrades found that wide gaps persist in quality outcomes for maternity care and the best-performing hospitals had far fewer complications compared with poor-performing hospitals.The Sixth Annual HealthGrades Women’s Health in American Hospitals study found that best-performing hospitals had 52% fewer maternal complications among women who had vaginal births compared to poor-performing hospitals and 76% fewer complications among women who had C-sections. Patient-choice C-sections had the largest difference at 84% between best- and poor-performing hospitals.“It’s an honor to be ranked among the top hospitals in the country by an independent source such as HealthGrades,” said Amy Huibonhoa, MD, Chair of OB/GYN. “Pregnancy gives families nine months time to make careful decisions about where to receive their health care. Providing this crucial information about Alta Bates Summit’s outstanding clinical performance will allow families to make thoughtful choices about where to experience this important event in their lives.”Study findings include the following:• If all hospitals, among the 19 states studied, performed at the level of the best-performing hospitals from 2005 through 2007, 182,129 women may have avoided developing one or more in hospital major obstetrics complications. • Best-performing hospitals had a 56% lower weight-stratified neonatal mortality compared to poor-performing hospitals.• C-section rates average approximately 32% among the 19 states studied.• Quality inconsistencies are seen when comparing states; those with the lowest complication rates have almost half the complications compared with states that had the highest complication rates.“For many women, having a baby is their first experience with hospitalization, and as this study shows, it really matters which hospital is chosen.” said Dr. Rick May, a senior physician consultant with HealthGrades and a study co-author. “But now women have a way of identifying hospitals with outstanding track records in terms of the outcomes of other new mothers. That’s a powerful tool for all women as they plan for their birth.” HealthGrades analyzed approximately 13 million hospital delivery and neonate records from 2005 through 2007 in more than 1,500 hospitals in 19 all-payer states for this study and identified 218 hospitals as being five-star rated in maternity care. The full HealthGrades study can be found at www.healthgrades.com.