West Boca Medical receives high marks for maternity care

Published July 1st, 2008

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

West Boca Medical Center has been recognized with a five-star rating for clinical excellence in maternity care, based on a study issued by HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings company.

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

The HealthGrades study also identified West Boca Medical Center as ranking in the top 5 percent in the nation for maternity care services for the third year in a row.

“It is a great honor for our maternity care physicians and nurses to be recognized for their outstanding service to our community,” said Ruth Schwarzkopf, CNO. “Achieving this award for three years in a row is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the staff.”

HealthGrades analyzed more than 12.5 million hospital delivery and neonate records from 2004 through 2006 in over 1440 hospitals. It found that 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.

Also, said the report, the best-performing hospitals had almost 76 percent fewer maternal complications among women who had C-sections compared to poor-performing hospitals.

“Knowing the various methods of how the statistics were obtained only further strengthens the integrity and excellence of our staff,” said Louise Toby-Harris, director of Maternal Services. “This recognition proves that hard work leads to great success.”

“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.”

The complete maternity care and women’s health services ratings are published, free of charge, on HealthGrades Web site, 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. 

West Boca Medical Center, part of Tenet South Florida, is a 185-bed acute care hospital located at 21644 State Road 7 in Boca Raton. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of the community and surrounding areas for more than 20 years.