In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver quality maternity care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana announced that Lane Regional Medical Center has been awarded the national Blue Distinction® Center for Maternity Care designation.
As a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care hospital, Lane is being recognized for delivering quality specialty care safely and effectively, based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community.
This new Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on several quality measures, including the percentage of newborns that fall into the category of early elective delivery. 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.
As a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designee, Lane has agreed to meet requirements that align with principles that support evidence-based practices of care as well as initiating programs to promote successful breastfeeding.
“Our goal is to provide the highest quality maternity care,” says Lori Carruth, Labor & Delivery unit director at Lane Regional Medical Center. “Meeting the strenuous criteria required of this new designation is a testament to our physicians and staff and their commitment to health of our patients.”
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the nation have recognized more than 280 hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care. Research shows that compared to other facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. For more information about the program, visit bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
