Regional West designated 'Blue Distinction® Center' for maternity care

In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver quality maternity care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska announced that Regional West Medical Center has been designated as one of the first hospitals to receive the Blue Distinction® Center for Maternity Care designation, a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

“Being one of the very first hospitals to receive the Blue Distinction Designation for Maternity Care is an honor,” said Connie Rupp, MSN, RN, Regional West Chief Nursing Officer/Vice President Patient Care. “Providing high quality maternity care has always been a priority for our providers and nurses. This designation is validation that Regional West Medical Center’s Birth and Infant Care Center ‘delivers’ the very best care.”

Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization. This new 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 addition, hospitals that receive a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation agreed 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.