Maternity Care Honor Roll, 2024
Of the 94 hospitals recognized in 2024, 57 have made the Honor Roll for the past three years, and 19 have maintained Honor Roll status for nine consecutive years.
Introduction
In collaboration with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and CalHospitalCompare.org (CHC), HCAI’s 2024 Maternity Care Honor Roll data visualization provides an overview of 94 out of 223 eligible California hospitals that met or exceeded performance standards for five maternal health metrics: nulliparous term singleton vertex (NTSV) C-section, surgical site infection after a C-section, vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC), episiotomy, and early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestational age. This expands the performance evaluation in the 2015 – 2023 honor rolls, which only recognized hospitals that met the NTSV C-section performance standard.
Evidence suggests that the chance of having a C-section delivery largely depends on aspects such as where delivering occurs and the practice patterns of the obstetric care team. Even for low-risk, first-birth pregnancies, huge variations are noted in rates of C-sections at individual hospitals.
Overuse of C-sections can result in higher rates of complications like hemorrhage, transfusions, infection, and blood clots. The surgery also brings risks for babies, including higher rates of infection, respiratory complications, neonatal intensive care unit stays, and lower breastfeeding rates.
Key Findings
- Out of the 94 hospitals (which represents 42 percent of eligible hospitals) recognized in 2024, 57 (25.6 percent of eligible hospitals) have made the Honor Roll for the past three years, and 19 have maintained Honor Roll status for nine consecutive years.
- 6 hospitals achieved Honor Roll status for the first time this year.
Notes:
- A hospital with an asterisk indicates it has achieved the maternity care honor roll status nine years running.
- The filter option under “Maternal Health Performance Metric” titled “New Maternity Care Composite Measure” encompasses all 5 maternal health metrics: nulliparous term singleton vertex (NTSV) C-section, surgical site infection after a C-section, vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC), episiotomy, and early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestational age.
How HCAI Created This Product
This data product was developed through a strategic partnership with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and CalHospitalCompare.org (CHC) using HCAI’s Patient-Level Administrative Data. The California Health and Human Services Agency announcement of the 2024 Maternity Care Honor Roll can be found here: Cal Hospital Compare Announces 2024 Maternity Care Honor Roll Hospitals.
The visualization highlights key metrics from the 2024 California Maternity Honor Roll Fact Sheet, with all ratings based on the prior year’s data. This collaboration also supports the ongoing “My Birth Matters” educational campaign aimed at informing expectant mothers about cesarean delivery.
Additional Information
Topic: Healthcare Utilization
Source Link: Healthcare Utilization – Patient-Level Administrative Data
Citation: HCAI — Patient Discharge Data 2023; CMQCC-Maternity Care Honor Roll, 2024
Temporal Coverage: 2022–2024
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide, County
Frequency: Annually