Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) was recognized by the California Health and Human Services Agency and Cal Hospital Compare for its high performance in maternity care and patient safety. As one of 36 hospitals in the state to achieve Honor Roll status, ARMC has also surpassed the statewide target aimed at reducing births via C-section in first-time mothers with low risk pregnancies.
Cal Hospital Compare, a nonprofit organization, has been providing Californians with objective hospital performance ratings for more than a decade. For the last four years, California has also recognized hospitals that meet or surpass a statewide target of C-section rates of 23.9 percent for low-risk, first-births. The award reflects the most recent hospital discharge and birth certificate data from 235 California hospitals that offer maternity services.
“We are pleased to be among the hospitals that have earned Honor Roll status for maternity care and patient safety while reducing C-section rates,” said Sharon Kemp, Clinical Director II, ARMC Maternal Child Services. “This is a collaborative effort with continued education for not only our health care team, but for mothers-to-be, to fully understand their options along with the risks.”
Every year approximately 500,000 babies are born in California, and childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization in the U.S. and California. For mothers, overuse of C-sections can result in higher rates of complications, and for babies they are at risk for higher rates of infection, respiratory complications, neonatal intensive care unit stays, and lower breastfeeding rates.