Southwest Healthcare System Recognized for Higher Quality in Maternity Care
Blue Cross and Blue Shield has recognized Southwest Healthcare System’s Rancho Springs Medical Center with a Blue Distinction® Center for Maternity Care designation as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated hospitals that show expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community.
Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization, and cesarean sections the most common operating room procedures, according to National Centers for Health Statistics and the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). Reducing early elective delivery is an area of focus for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). According to Health Affairs, elective inductions result in more cesarean deliveries and a longer maternal hospitalization. The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on quality measures for vaginal and cesarean delivery.
Rancho Springs Medical Center is proud to be recognized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield for meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center quality selection criteria for maternity care set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
“This award is a reflection of the high quality of maternity service that our staff has displayed,” says Brad Neet, CEO of Southwest Healthcare System. “We strive each and every day to make the patient experience a top priority and it shows by our level of commitment.”
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, maternity care, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that, compared to other hospitals, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, please visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
Inland Valley Medical Center is the only hospital in the region to offer Level II Trauma Services, the region’s only Total Joint Center and is a nationally recognized center for weight-loss surgery by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.
Rancho Springs Medical Center features the largest Women’s Center in the region which includes the Rady Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Rady San Diego: Ranked 5th in the nation for neonatal care) and the da Vinci © Robotic Surgical System performing the region’s first virtually no-scar single site procedures.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.
About Blue Distinction Centers – Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.