Emerson Hospital has been designated as a Blue Distinction® Center+ for Maternity Care by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts 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. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers+ designation, a hospital must also demonstrate cost-efficiency.
Nearly four million babies are born in the United States each year, making childbirth the most common reason for hospitalization. The Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care designation means Emerson Hospital meets requirements that support evidence-based practices of care as well as cost measures that meet consumers’ needs for affordable healthcare. The program also evaluates maternity hospitals on patient satisfaction, including a likelihood to recommend the hospital to others. Maternity patients consistently give Emerson high marks for patient care and safety and 99% said they would recommend Emerson Hospital, according to the latest patient survey results.
“We are very pleased to be named a Blue Distinction Plus maternity hospital,” said Christine Schuster, President and CEO, Emerson Hospital. “Families choose Emerson to deliver their baby based on our focus of providing the highest quality of care to moms and newborns. Our emphasis on treating each family as unique and special during labor and delivery and throughout their stay at Emerson is one reason why parents choose to have their baby here. Our patient care team has tremendous experience with newborns and new moms. This experience, combined with the many educational and therapeutic approaches that Emerson is known for, helps our moms and babies have a safe, healthy and wonderful start to their new lives together.”
“Congratulations to Emerson Hospital for being designated a Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care,” said Dana Gelb Safran, Chief Performance Measurement & Improvement Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. “Emerson Hospital shares our commitment to create a high performing health care system that provides the highest quality, clinically appropriate and affordable care.”
For more information about having a baby at Emerson, including our clinical affiliations with Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, visit www.emersonhospital.org/baby. Learn more about the Blue Distinction program of Blue Cross Blue Shield at www.bcbs.com/blue-distinction-specialty-care.
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About Emerson Hospital
Emerson Hospital is a multi-site health system headquartered in Concord, Mass., with additional facilities in Sudbury, Groton and Westford and urgent care centers in Hudson and Littleton. The 179-bed hospital provides advanced medical services to more than 300,000 individuals in 25 towns. To learn more, visit www.emersonhospital.org.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is a community-focused, tax-paying, not–for–profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We‘re the trusted health plan for more than 25,000 Massachusetts employers and are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our 2.8 million members first, we‘re rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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.
