Beebe Healthcare Recognized for High Quality Maternity Care
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware has recognized Beebe Healthcare with a Blue Distinction® Center for Maternity Care designation as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated hospitals that show expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community.
Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization, and cesarean sections the most common operating room procedures, according to National Centers for Health Statistics and the Agency for Health care Research & Quality (AHRQ). Reducing early elective delivery is an area of focus for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). According to Health Affairs, elective inductions result in more cesarean deliveries and a longer maternal hospitalization.
“Beebe Healthcare is proud to be recognized by Highmark BCBS Delaware for meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center+ quality and cost selection criteria for maternity care set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program,” said Bridget Buckaloo, MSN, RNC-OB, Executive Director of Women’s and Children’s Health at Beebe. “This distinction only cements what we already know – that the team here at Beebe is committed to providing quality care in the most cost-effective way for our patients and treating everyone who comes through our doors like family.”
The Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on quality measures for vaginal and cesarean delivery. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care designation, a hospital must also demonstrate cost-efficiency.
Quality is key: only those hospitals that first meet Blue Distinction’s nationally-established, objective quality measures will be considered for designation as a Blue Distinction Center+.
“The Blue Distinction program gives Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware members the ability to choose their Providers based upon reliable quality and safety information. It also provides a pathway for exceptional Providers to demonstrate their value, and delivers the kind of transparency necessary for members to make informed value-driven healthcare decisions. We congratulate our Blue Distinction Specialty Care Providers on their accomplishment and thank our members for choosing Highmark BCBS Delaware”, said Dr. Charles DeShazer, Vice President and Executive Medical Director, Clinical Services, Medical Policy & Quality.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the nation have recognized more than 1,000 hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care. Hospitals recognized with this designation are assessed using a combination of quality information supplied by hospitals and cost measures derived from BCBS companies’ medical claims.
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, maternity care, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that, compared to other hospitals, 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 hospitals.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, please visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
Beebe is planning for the next generation of maternity care in Lewes. Find out more about the Margaret H. Rollins Paviliion planned for the Lewes campus: www.nextgenerationofcare.org.
Beebe Healthcare is a not-for-profit community healthcare system with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health for the people who live, work, and visit the communities we serve. The medical center in Lewes is a licensed 210-bed hospital with specialized service lines, including cardiac and vascular, surgical services, medical and radiation oncology, women's health, and orthopaedic services. Outpatient facilities, conveniently located throughout Sussex County, provide primary care, walk-in care, lab, imaging, and physical rehabilitation services, in addition to Beebe’s home care services. For more information on services offered through Beebe, go to www.beebehealthcare.org. To find out how Beebe Healthcare is creating the next generation of care for the community, go to www.nextgenerationofcare.org.
About Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware serves approximately 440,000 members through the company’s health care benefits business and hundreds of thousands of additional members through the Blue Card program. Headquartered in Wilmington, it employs more than 600 people. Highmark Delaware is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and 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 one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) 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 providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA 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 evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.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 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.