Two Jacksonville area hospitals are among the best in the state when it comes to maternity care, according to a study by U.S. News & World Report.
The magazine ranked Baptist Medical Center Beaches and Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County among eight hospitals in Florida that received the status of “high performing.”
To devise the rankings, U.S. News collected data directly from the hospitals and evaluated outcomes including C-section rates, and process, including exclusive breast milk feeding rates.
This was only the second year that U.S. News & World surveyed the quality of maternity care in hospitals across the nation, building on its longstanding Best Hospital rankings. Four standards were added to hospital scores this year, including episiotomy rates, vaginal birth after cesarean rates, “birthing-friendly” practices, and rewards for reporting outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities, according to a news release.
Thirty-two hospitals across Florida participated in the survey, the same number as last year. In the 2021 rankings, three local hospitals were ranked high performing: the two so designated this year and Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside Hospital.
Nationally, nearly 650 hospitals participated in the analysis, according to the release, and fewer than 300 hospitals received a high-performing designation.
Earlier in the year, U.S. News ranked hospitals overall, with Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville operation coming in No. 1 in the state, as it has for six of the past seven years. Mayo did not participate in the maternity care survey.
In the overall hospital rankings, Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville was named No. 2 in the region and 11th in the state. Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside and UF Health Jacksonville were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the metro area.
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