Community Hospital, St. Catherine Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center again have been recognized for their commitment to infant and maternal health.
All three earned accolades from the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA), in partnership with State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver, MD, FACEP, at the fifth annual INspire Hospital of Distinction recognition ceremony.
Recognition is based on implementation of best practices in six key areas, including safe sleep, breastfeeding, perinatal substance use, social drivers of health, obstetric hemorrhage and maternal hypertension. Family Birthing Services at the three Powers Health acute care hospitals received the Hospital of Distinction Award, meaning they met four or five of those criteria.
Powers Health’s Family Birthing Services set initiatives in place to meet high standards for healthy pregnancies and for healthy beginnings for infants.
“In the past, our team received the Category of Excellence award, so we are excited to earn Hospital of Distinction, meaning we’ve met more criteria in our effort to support mothers and babies through best practices,” said LaTina Ashana, Family Birthing Services nurse manager at St. Catherine Hospital.
Carla Meyer, administrative director of nursing administration at Community Hospital, said Powers Health has a reputation for delivering excellent maternal and infant care.
“Our healthcare professionals strive for the best, not for recognition or accolades, but for our patients,” Meyer said. “We continue to invest in training and equipment to ensure we provide the high level of care our patients expect.”
Nurturing healthy beginnings for babies and their mothers is a top priority.
“We put a lot of hard work into preparation, education and training as we strive for positive outcomes for our patients,” said Brittany Pankiewicz, Family Birthing Services nurse manager at St. Mary Medical Center.
INspire, funded by the Indiana Department of Health’s Safety PIN grant, was developed to implement the delivery of best practice care for Hoosier moms and babies and to recognize hospitals for excellence in addressing key drivers of infant and maternal health.
“The Indiana Department of Health remains focused on working with healthcare providers to improve outcomes for Hoosier moms and babies,” said Weaver. “We are grateful to have hospitals across the state support initiatives, such as the Indiana Perinatal Levels of Care and obstetrical emergencies training, that have contributed to improvements in both maternal and infant health.”
For the first time in the program’s history, 100% of Indiana’s birthing facilities earned one of two INspire recognitions, reinforcing the progress that has been made to improve upon the key drivers of maternal and infant health.
For more information about healthy beginnings at Family Birthing Services of Powers Health, visit PowersHealth.org/baby.
