PARMC lands spot in US News & World Report rankings

Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center is, according to the latest ratings from US News and World Report magazine, one of the best hospitals in the country for maternity care.

From Sarah Teach, PARMC...

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has named Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy). This is the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.

Best Hospitals for Maternity Care is an annual evaluation designed to assist expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, in making informed decisions about where to receive maternity care that best meets their family’s needs.

Piedmont Athens Regional earned a High Performing designation in recognition of maternity care as measured by factors such as newborn complication rates.

“Piedmont Athens is proud to receive this recognition from U.S. News & World Report,” said Piedmont Athens Regional CEO Michael Burnett. “This designation reflects our team’s relentless commitment to excellent patient care, offering all patients access to safe, individualized maternity care.”

U.S. News evaluated hospitals from across the nation that provide labor and delivery services and submitted detailed data to the publication for analysis; 680 hospitals, an all-time high, participated in this year’s U.S. News survey. Fewer than half – 46% – of all hospitals that offer maternity care and participated in the survey received a High Performing designation.

“Hospitals that receive a High Performing designation as part of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care meet a high standard in caring for parents with uncomplicated pregnancies,” said Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News. “These hospitals have C-section rates that are 26% lower, and newborn complication rates that are 37% lower than unrecognized hospitals. Parents-to-be can research their local hospitals’ performance metrics for free at health.usnews.com to help them choose where to have their baby.”

The U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, early elective delivery rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.

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