Worcester, Mass- (January 30, 2018) — In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver high quality, cost-efficient maternity care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts names Saint Vincent Hospital as a Blue Distinction^® Center Plus for Maternity Care under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization. The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on several quality measures, including the percentage of newborns that fall into the category of early elective delivery, an ongoing concern in the medical community. Compared with babies born 39 weeks or later, early term infants face higher risks of infant death and respiratory ailments such as respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and respiratory failure, among other conditions. These babies also have a higher rate of admission to neonatal intensive care units.  In order to achieve the Plus designation, Saint Vincent Hospital also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan.

In addition, hospitals that receive a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation agree to meet requirements that align with principles that support evidence-based practices of care, as well as having initiated programs to promote successful breastfeeding, as described in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative by Baby-Friendly USA or the Mother-Friendly Hospital program by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) through its “Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care.” The program also evaluates hospitals on overall patient satisfaction, including a willingness to recommend the hospital to others.  Other criteria includes delivering quality specialty care safely and effectively based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community.

“Our maternity and obstetrics team is always working hard to provide our patients with the best birth experience possible,” said Saint Vincent Hospital CEO, Jeffrey M. Welch.  “Achieving this designation is a testament to our efforts to provide high-quality, safe and effective care to expectant mothers and their families.”

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs across many different areas including bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants.

About St. Vincent Hospital`

Saint Vincent Hospital is an acute care hospital providing general and tertiary medical services to residents of Worcester and Central Massachusetts. From newborns to seniors, Saint Vincent Hospital has a wide-range of inpatient and outpatient services, including open-heart surgery, neurosurgery, cardiovascular medicine, orthopedics and the Saint Vincent Cancer and Wellness Center. Saint Vincent Hospital was founded by the Sisters of Providence and has over a century-long tradition of providing quality healthcare. It was the first hospital in Central Massachusetts to offer robotically assisted surgical procedures and minimally invasive, computer-assisted joint replacements. Saint Vincent Hospital is located at 123 Summer Street, Worcester, MA and has a variety of medical group locations throughout the region. To learn more, visit https://www.stvincenthospital.com.