EvergreenHealth recently announced its Family Maternity Center earned designation as a “Blue Distinction Center+” for maternity care by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
This achievement is part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care national designation program which recognizes health care facilities that demonstrate expertise in delivering quality patient care safely, effectively and cost-efficiently. The Blue Distinction Specialty Care Program includes two levels of designation, Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+.
EvergreenHealth was one of eight health systems in Washington to receive the Centers+ designation and one of four in the Puget Sound region. Maternity care centers with the Blue Distinction designation demonstrate expertise and a commitment to quality care for vaginal and cesarean section deliveries, with better overall patient satisfaction and a lower percentage of early elective deliveries.
“As one of the state’s top hospitals for number of births each year, with nearly 4,500 babies born here annually, we are committed to the highest quality care and a superior experience for mothers, babies and families who choose us for one of life’s most significant milestones,” said Bob Malte, EvergreenHealth CEO in a press release. “Receiving this Blue Distinction Center+ honor was made possible by every EvergreenHealth obstetrics physician, midwife, nurse, staff member and volunteer, whose collective dedication to providing an unparalleled experience helps patients to achieve better outcomes.”
The Blue Distinction Specialty Care Program evaluates facilities on quality metrics developed through a process that includes input from the medical community and quality measurement experts; a review of medical literature, along with national quality and safety initiatives; and a thorough analysis of meaningful quality measures from objective, publicly available sources.
The goal of the program is to set the health care standard for quality, cost and access, while providing a credible foundation for local Blue Plans to design benefits tailored to meet employers’ own quality and cost objectives.
“At EvergreenHealth, our mission is to advance the health of our community with access to high quality care and absolute patient safety. We commend Blue Cross Blue Shield for establishing a program that helps patients find facilities that offer both quality and value for their specialty care needs, while encouraging health care professionals to continually enhance the overall quality and delivery of care nationwide,” Malte added.
This is not the first award of its kind for the Kirkland-based health system – EvergreenHealth has been recognized as a Baby-Friendly hospital since 1996, when it was named the first Baby-Friendly hospital in the United States.
The Baby-Friendly Initiative, a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recognizes facilities that promote breastfeeding and other postnatal practices to give babies the best start in life. The EvergreenHealth Family Maternity Center has successfully renewed its designation every five years since first earning it, recently reaching its 21st year of achievement.
For more information on EvergreenHealth’s Family Maternity Center and its achievements, visit www.evergreenhealth.com/baby-f
