SARASOTA (Dec. 7, 2021) — Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Sarasota Campus earned the highest possible award for maternity care in U.S. News & World Report’s first “Best Hospitals for Maternity” list released today.
To make the list, hospitals had to demonstrate superior performance on 5 quality metrics that matter to expectant families, including: newborn complication rates; C-section rates in low-risk women; the number of births scheduled too early in pregnancy; whether hospitals gave women the option for vaginal births after cesarean; and how hospitals supported mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding.
SMH received high marks in all areas evaluated, and is the only hospital in the region to be make the list. Less than 10% of the more than 2,700 hospitals delivering babies received high enough marks across the board to be recognized in the national “High Performing” list for 2021-2022.
“All families deserve to be informed on how hospitals perform on key indicators of quality, which is why U.S. News has compiled and published a trove of maternal health data from hospitals across the country,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News & World Report. “The hospitals we’ve recognized as High Performing meet a high standard in caring for patients with uncomplicated pregnancies.”
This is the first time U.S. News has published a list of Best Hospitals for Maternity. Participating hospitals responded to a voluntary survey from the U.S. News health analysis team in the spring of 2021, reflecting clinical and quality data from 2019.
“The award and recognition are a testament to the care and commitment of our entire team, but what means the most to us is the shared hope and joy of families as we welcome a new baby into this world,” said Pam Beitlich, executive director of Women and Children’s Services at Sarasota Memorial.
While the new Best Hospitals maternity ranking focuses on uncomplicated pregnancies, Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Sarasota is a referral center for women on the Suncoast with high-risk pregnancies as well. Delivering more than 4,000 babies a year, it is the only hospital in the 4-county Suncoast region with a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature babies and critically ill newborns, with an experienced team of high-risk pregnancy specialists, neonatologists and obstetrical and pediatric hospitalists available 24/7.
SMH-Sarasota also was the first hospital in the southwest Florida to earn international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Hospital, part of a World Health Organization initiative that promotes mother-baby bonding, breastfeeding and best practices in maternity care.
Click here to view the rankings on the U.S. News website.
Earlier this year, U.S. News awarded SMH-Sarasota “high performer” ratings in 15 procedures and conditions common among Medicare patients, including heart and stroke care; hip, knee and spine surgery; cancer surgery; and more.
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, offering Southwest Florida's greatest breadth and depth of care, provides services for more than 1 million patients each year across its 2 hospital campuses, free-standing ER, and network of outpatient care centers. The system's 895-bed flagship facility, Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Sarasota, has been consistently recognized as one of the nation's best acute-care hospitals, with superior patient outcomes and complete continuum of care - from trauma, emergency and urgent care services to laboratory and diagnostic imaging, home health, skilled nursing and rehabilitation.