KINGSTON -- The maternity department of HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway campus earned the state’s highest mother and newborn health award for delivering every infant at full term for an entire year, unless an earlier delivery was medically necessary.
The Quality Improvement Award -- part of the state health department’s Perinatal Quality Collaborative Obstetrical Improvement Project -- recognized the hospital’s Family Birth Place for reporting “zero scheduled deliveries without a medical indication in 2013,” acting Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker said in a letter to David Scarpino, HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley’s president and chief executive officer.
“This is the highest level of achievement possible for this project, and we commend your entire team for their exemplary work and commitment to this important issue,” Zucker’s letter said.
An accompanying certificate said HealthAlliance received the award “in recognition of the hard work and dedication of your facility’s staff to eliminate scheduled deliveries without a medical indication prior to 39 weeks gestation.”
Unless there is a medically valid reason to do so, a baby should not be delivered until 39 weeks of pregnancy, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine say.
Intentionally scheduling a birth before 39 weeks, by cesarean section or by inducing labor, increases the risk of complications and harm to the mother and child, the groups say.
Risk factors for a newborn include respiratory problems due to underdeveloped lungs, infection due to an underdeveloped immune system, feeding problems due to an underdeveloped brain and jaundice due to an underdeveloped liver.
By contrast, babies born between 39 and 41 weeks of gestation are typically healthier than babies born before or after this range.
“We couldn’t be more gratified we earned the state’s highest honor for obstetric care of mothers and their newborns,” said Sandra Horan, HealthAlliance’s chief nursing officer.
“This is a testament to the exceptional, board-certified obstetricians and outstanding clinical nursing staff members who treat a wide range of obstetrical conditions in the Family Birth Place, including high-risk pregnancies,” she said.
“We recognize the tremendous responsibility and stress that come with choosing the right hospital for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum. And we’re proud the state recognized HealthAlliance for the exemplary work we’re doing right here in Kingston,” Horan said.
The state started the five-year Obstetrical Improvement Project in September 2010 after finding a significant increase in neonatal intensive-care unit patients after women scheduled early deliveries for convenience.
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About the Family Birth Place
The Family Birth Place at the HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway campus believes every woman is entitled to a joyful and healthy birth experience. It offers proven low-intervention labor-management methods, including birthing balls, hydrotherapy tubs and showers, as well as pain management. Patients say the Birth Place’s labor-delivery-recovery-postpartum rooms feel more like hotel rooms than those at a hospital. Every staff member is also a certified lactation counselor, endorsed by the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice to provide breastfeeding support. A state-of-the art infant security system protects precious loved ones on the unit. Parents complete their stay with a Celebration Dinner. After parents leave, they can make use of a 24-hour New Parent Hotline at 845-331-4357.
About HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley®
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley® is the alignment of HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus and Broadway Campus, as well as Margaretville Hospital, Mountainside Residential Care Center and Woodland Pond at New Paltz. As the parent organization with a unified governance structure, the goal of HealthAlliance is to strengthen the quality of care and bring forward enhanced technology to serve the present and future healthcare needs in the Hudson Valley. HealthAlliance and its affiliate facilities are committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care and to ensuring patient safety, privacy and dignity to all. For further information about HealthAlliance, visit our website at www.hahv.org.