RELEASE
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recognizes 63 hospitals statewide for delivering high-quality, affordable maternity care
Meghan O'Brien
| 6 min read
DETROIT, February 11, 2016 – In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver high-quality, affordable maternity care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced the first hospitals in the state to receive the Blue Distinction ® Center and Blue Distinction® Center+ for Maternity Care designation, a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Nearly 115,000 babies are born in Michigan annually, making childbirth a common cause of hospitalization. This new designation program for maternity care evaluates hospitals on several quality measures, including the percentage of newborns that fall into the category of early elective delivery, an ongoing concern in the medical community. Early-term infants face higher risks of death and respiratory ailments, in addition to higher rate of admission to neonatal intensive care units. In addition, hospitals that receive a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation agreed to meet requirements that align with principles that support evidence-based practices of care. They also agreed to initiate programs to promote successful breastfeeding, as described in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative by Baby-Friendly USA or the Mother-Friendly Hospital program by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services through its “Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care.” Lastly, the program evaluates hospitals on overall patient satisfaction, including a willingness to recommend the hospital to others. Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care, an expansion of the national Blue Distinction Specialty Care program, are hospitals recognized for delivering high quality, affordable specialty care safely and effectively, based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care designation, a hospital must also meet requirements for cost efficiency. “The Maternity Care designation is a significant achievement, and an indication of quality performance, safe and effective care for the many thousands of Michigan residents who will add to their families in the future,” says David Share, MD, MPH, senior vice president of Value Partnerships at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “We congratulate all the hospitals that have earned the designation for their commitment to providing this high level of care.” Blue Cross has designated 63 hospitals in Michigan for their high-quality maternity care. All are Blue Distinction Center+ except where noted:
- Allegiance Health, Jackson
- Alpena General Hospital, Alpena
- Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo
- Botsford Hospital, Farmington Hills
- Bronson Hospital, Battle Creek
- Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo
- Community Health Center Branch County, Coldwater
- Covenant Medical Center, Saginaw
- Dickinson County Memorial Hospital, Iron Mountain
- Garden City Hospital, Garden City
- Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc
- Harper University Hospital & Hutzel Women’s Hospital, Detroit (Blue Distinction Center)
- Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit
- Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, Clinton Township
- Henry Ford Hospital, West Bloomfield
- Henry Ford Hospital, Wyandotte
- Hillsdale Community Health Center, Hillsdale
- Holland Hospital, Holland
- Hurley Medical Center, Flint
- Huron Medical Center, Bad Axe
- Huron Valley Sinai Hospital, Commerce Township
- Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph
- Marquette General Hospital, Marquette
- McLaren Bay Regional Medical Center, Bay City
- McLaren Central Michigan Hospital, Mt. Pleasant
- McLaren, Flint
- McLaren, Greater Lansing
- McLaren Lapeer Regional Medical Center, Lapeer
- McLaren Northern Michigan, Petoskey
- McLaren, Port Huron
- Memorial Healthcare, Owosso (Blue Distinction Center)
- Memorial Medical Center of West Michigan, Ludington
- Mercy Health Hackley Campus, Muskegon
- Mercy Hospital, Cadillac
- Mercy Hospital, Grayling
- Mercy Memorial Hospital, Monroe
- Metro Health Hospital, Wyoming
- Munson Medical Center, Traverse City
- North Ottawa Community Hospital, Grand Haven
- Oaklawn Hospital, Marshall
- Oakwood Hospital, Dearborn
- Oakwood Hospital, Wayne
- Oakwood Hospital-Southshore, Trenton
- Pennock Hospital, Hastings
- Promedica Bixby Hospital, Adrian
- Providence Hospital, Southfield
- Providence Park Hospital, Novi
- Saint Mary's Health Care, Grand Rapids
- Sparrow Hospital, Lansing
- Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids
- Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial, Fremont
- Spectrum Health United Hospital, Greenville
- Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital, Zeeland
- Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, Big Rapids
- John Hospital & Medical Center, Detroit
- Joseph Mercy Oakland, Pontiac
- Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor
- Mary Mercy Hospital, Livonia Campus
- Joseph Hospital, Tawas City
- University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor
- William Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe
- William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak
- William Beaumont Hospital, Troy
Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies across the nation have recognized more than 280 hospitals as Blue Distinction Center and 650 hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care. Hospitals earning these designations were assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from BCBS companies’ medical claims. Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find high quality providers for their specialty care needs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants. Research shows that compared to other facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. On average, Blue Distinction Centers+ are also 20 percent more cost-efficient than non-Blue Distinction Center+ designated health care facilities. For more information about the program, visit bcbs.com/bluedistinction. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com or mibluesperspectives.com. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for nearly 105 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA. Blue Distinction Centers met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A local Blue plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your local Blue plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its local Blue plan. Facilities in California, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington may lie in two local Blue plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluations must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your local Blue plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.
