LANSING, Mich. — In honor of Mother’s Day, The Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM), a nonprofit group comprised of Michigan’s largest employers and unions, is awarding hospitals throughout Michigan that have demonstrated excellence and improvement in maternity care and delivery outcomes. Sixteen hospitals have earned an award for 2020, the highest number of recipients thus far. This marks the third year for the awards.
The awards are part of EAM’s Maternity Care Project. Created in 2018, the project goals are to decrease the state’s infant mortality, reduce the rate of unnecessary C-sections, and be an educational resource for new and expecting parents residing in Michigan.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, the State of Michigan recorded a 6.2 infant mortality rate, ranking 18th highest in the country. The national average was 5.9. Unnecessary C-sections and elective early deliveries may cause additional complications, even death, for both baby and mother.
“When choosing a hospital to give birth at, parents-to-be should look at the facility’s C-section rate to help prevent an unneeded procedure from occurring,” said Bret Jackson, president, EAM. “Recipients of our Hospital Maternity Care Award are chosen based on their dedication to outcome transparency and patient safety. Their efforts help prevent adverse events and contribute to the lowering of healthcare costs.”
For the award, hospitals were evaluated in four areas: cesarean rates (≤ 29.3% of low-risk deliveries), episiotomy rates (≤ 5% of deliveries), elective early delivery rates (≤ 5% of deliveries), and maternity care processes (90% or greater). The data is from The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C. based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers.
To be awarded the Excellence Award, hospitals need to fully meet the standard in all four areas in the same calendar year. Recipients of the 2020 Maternity Care Excellence Award are:
∙ Bronson Hospital, Battle Creek (two years in a row)
∙ Dickinson County Healthcare System, Iron Mountain
∙ Henry Ford Allegiance Health, Jackson
∙ Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit (two years in a row)
∙ McLaren Bay Region, Bay City
∙ Memorial Healthcare, Owosso
∙ Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, Grand Rapids (two years in a row)
∙ Munson Medical Center, Traverse City (three years in a row)
∙ Spectrum Health Butterworth, Grand Rapids
∙ Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial, Fremont (two years in a row)
∙ Spectrum Health Lakeland Niles Hospital
∙ Spectrum Health Pennock Hospital, Hastings (three years in a row)
∙ Spectrum Health United Hospital, Greenville (three years in a row)
For the Improvement Award, hospitals must have demonstrated rate decreases in cesarean rates, episiotomy and elective early delivery over a two-year period, and must now fully meet the standard for cesarean delivery rates. Recipients of the 2020 Maternity Care Improvement Award are:
∙ Henry Ford Wyandotte
∙ Spectrum Health Big Rapids
∙ Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital
The Maternity Care Project provides details for each birth center in Michigan, providing a mom-to-be invaluable information in making her choice for hospital maternity care. To compare birth centers, go to www.maternitycareproject.com [maternitycareproject.com].
About the Economic Alliance for Michigan
Founded in 1982, the EAM is comprised of businesses and unions working together with one clear objective – continued growth of Michigan’s economy by inspiring job growth and strengthen Michigan’s competitiveness for attracting companies and talent. A main objective of the EAM is bringing attention to lawmakers and the public about the rising health care costs and its effect on the economy. The EAM is the Michigan Regional Leader for The Leapfrog Group. Learn more about the EAM at www.eamonline.org [eamonline.org]. Follow us on Twitter @EAMOnline.
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