Hanover Hospital Maternity Services Awarded 5-Star Rating for Excellence and Best in Region

December 12, 2008 -

Hanover Hospital has been identified as Best in the Region for Maternity Care services, based on a study issued by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.

Hanover has also been recognized with a five-star rating for clinical excellence in Maternity Care.

The HealthGrades Fifth Annual Report on Women’s Health Outcomes in U.S. Hospitals found that best performing hospitals had almost 51 percent few maternal complications among women who had vaginal births compared to poor-performing hospitals, and 76 percent fewer for women undergoing cesarean section births.

“We are very proud of the services provided by our Maternity Department at Hanover Hospital,” said Dr. Steven Sheppard, President of the Hanover Hospital Medical Staff. “Our hospital staff and physicians have worked very hard for a number of years to provide excellent care to our community and service area.  Recognition by HealthGrades is a reflection of Hanover Hospital’s commitment to the pursuit of excellence.  Congratulations to all of those involved in making Hanover Hospital’s Maternity Department ‘Best in the Region’.”

HealthGrades analyzed over 12.5 million hospital delivery and neonate records from 2004 through 2006 in over 1440 hospitals and found:

• If all hospitals had performed at the level of the best-performing hospitals, 188,673 women may have avoided developing one or more in-hospital major
  maternal obstetrics complications associated with vaginal or C-section delivery.

• The best performing hospitals had almost 76 percent fewer maternal Complications among women who had C-sections compared to poor- performing hospitals.

“Women account for 60 percent of all hospitalizations each year,” said Samantha Collier, HealthGrades’ Chief Medical Officer.  “The majority of them enter the hospital to give birth.  Our research demonstrates the critical need for these women to evaluate the quality of maternity care provided by the hospital before making this important decision.”

For its 2008/2009 ratings, HealthGrades independently analyzed the quality of maternity care at hospitals in the 17 states that publish outcomes data, objectively assessing their clinical performance and quality.  HealthGrades applied the following rating system to all hospitals included in the analysis:

• Five-star (Best) = Top 15% of all hospitals within 19 states
• Three-star (Average) = Middle 70% of all hospitals within 19 states
• One-star (Poor) = Bottom 15% of all hospitals within 19 states

The complete maternity care and women’s health services ratings are published, free of charge, on HealthGrades’ website, www.HealthGrades.com.  Ratings for 27 other medical procedures and diagnoses – including cardiac, pulmonary, vascular, stroke, orthopedics, critical care, bariatric, and gastrointestinal services – are also available on the HealthGrades Web site.

For information about Maternity Services’ five-star rating, contact Lisa Duffy, Director or Marketing, at (717) 646-6906, or duffyl@hanoverhospital.org.  For a tour, or information about Maternity Services at Hanover, contact Sharon Barrick, Director of Maternal-Child Services, at (717) 633-2295, or barracks@hanoverhospital.org.