UCI Medical Center recognized among the country’s Best Maternity Care Hospitals
Orange County's only academic medical center, combined high-risk perinatal-neonatal care program treats most complex cases
February 25, 2021
UCI Health has again been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s of Best Maternity Care Hospitals for 2021. The distinction recognizes facilities that have excelled in providing care to mothers, newborns and their families, as verified by the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Best Maternity Care Hospitals is part of the publication’s Best Health Care series, developed by The Leapfrog Group.
“It is an honor to be recognized for the excellent maternity and newborn care UCI Health provides every day,” said Chad T. Lefteris, CEO, UCI Health. “Our team of committed physicians, nurses and other specialists stop at nothing to offer each woman in our care the best treatment for her condition, including complex cases that require expertise that only an academic medical center can provide.”
Hospitals named as a Best Maternity Care Hospital have fully met The Leapfrog Group’s standards for maternity care on evidence-based, nationally standardized safety measures. This includes lower rates of early elective delivery, NTSV C-section and episiotomy, as well as compliance with process measures including newborn bilirubin screening prior to discharge and blood clot prevention techniques for mothers delivering via C-section.
UCI Medical Center is the only Orange County hospital listed among Newsweek’sbest to meet the highest standards in each maternity safety measure. The world-class physicians, nurses, therapists and other members of the UCI Medical Center’s labor-and-delivery team are leaders in providing perinatal services for women experiencing high-risk pregnancies.
The region’s only combined high-risk perinatal services center and designated regional neonatal intensive care unit, UCI Medical Center provides 24-hour critical, life-saving services for mothers and newborns. Pre-term and low birth weight infants are more likely to survive when delivered at centers equipped to manage care for high-risk pregnancies and provide regional neonatal services.
UCI Health, as Orange County’s only academic health system, has a long-standing commitment to improving care for mothers and newborns. UCI Health maternal-fetal medicine experts have conducted groundbreaking research into heart disease risk among pregnant women and are among the leaders in the California Maternal Quality Care Consortium’s ongoing efforts to improve the safety of maternity care, including preventative care for obstetrical hemorrhaging, cardiovascular risk and venous thromboembolism.
“Sharing our expertise to help patients across this community is a privilege for each of our physicians and is part of UCI’s mission,” said Robert E. Bristow, MD, chair of the UCI Health Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “These experts are committed to improving the care available to all and their leadership with the maternal care consortium has had far-reaching benefits for women in California and beyond.”
Early intervention by UCI Health maternal-fetal medicine experts can reduce risks of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and other common conditions faced by women with complicated pregnancies. These MFM experts and hospital labor specialists provide the best care available care for UCI Health patients as well as expectant mothers in other Orange County community hospitals.
The department’s excellence is further reflected in its No. 16 national ranking in the 2020-2021 U.S. News & World Report Top 50 among gynecology and obstetrics programs.
In addition to recognition as a Best Maternity Care Hospital, UCI Health has also demonstrated a commitment to patient safety, as reflected in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. UCI Health received its 13th consecutive biannual recognition.
UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. The 418-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, as well as behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
