IRON MOUNTAIN – The prenatal and birthing program at Dickinson County Healthcare is renowned for its excellent care of mothers, babies (and dads!).
Through every step of the childbirth process, the Dickinson birthing team helps mothers, dads and their babies to healthy and safe outcomes.
Dickinson County Healthcare is honored to be one of only 16 hospitals in the State of Michigan and the only Upper Peninsula hospital to be recognized for excellent maternity care by The Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM) with the 2020 Maternity Care Award. This is the second time in three years that Dickinson County Healthcare has been recognized with this award.
“Our team is honored to receive the EAM Hospital Maternity Care Award because it recognizes the comprehensive and careful care we bring to every mom throughout the process, from prenatal health to healthy and safe deliveries,” said Dr. Ellen Bianchi, OB/GYN. “We work hard to be the very best birthing program in our community, so it’s great to be recognized as one of the best in the state.”
EAM is a nonprofit group comprised of Michigan’s largest employers and unions who have come together to award hospitals throughout Michigan that have demonstrated excellence and improvement in maternity care and delivery outcomes. The awards are part of EAM’s Maternity Care Project.
Created in 2018, the project goals are to decrease the states 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, EAM President. “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 healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers.