Hazel Crest, Ill. -- Advocate South Suburban Hospital has been recognized for its efforts to improve the health of babies and mothers by eliminating early elective inductions and cesarean sections.
The Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative recently issued the hospital a letter of commendation, recognizing the hospital and its perinatal team for their outstanding effort toward reducing their early elective delivery rate to the ILPQC’s goal of less than 5 percent. In fact, Advocate South Suburban Hospital cut its early induction rate to zero and maintained the effort throughout all of 2014.
In the past few years, research has shown that induction before 39 weeks increases the risk of complications for mothers and their babies. Research suggests that important development takes place for a baby’s brain and lungs during the last few weeks of a normal 40-week pregnancy. Yet according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, early elective deliveries — which include inductions and planned Cesarean sections that are not medically necessary — still account for 10 to 15 percent of all deliveries nationally.
“At Advocate South Suburban Hospital, our goal is to always provide the safest, most effective care for our patients,” said Dr. Richard Multack, Vice President of Medical Management. “By eliminating early elective deliveries, we have committed to providing our patients with evidence-based care, and getting moms and babies off to the best start possible.”
In addition to improving health outcomes, Advocate South Suburban Hospital’s commitment to minimizing elective births also help control rising health care costs.
According to the March of Dimes, women undergoing induced labor are twice as likely to need a C-section, which poses a high risk to maternal and fetal health. These high risks include post-delivery hemorrhage, premature birth and infection. Complications during delivery can add almost $1,000 to the cost of care, and sometimes nearly $2,000 for a C-section.
ILPQC was formed in late 2012 upon the recommendation of the Illinois Perinatal Advisory Committee Prematurity Task Force to the Illinois Legislature. The Task Force recommended a statewide perinatal quality collaborative to work with the Illinois Regionalized Perinatal System to implement quality improvement initiatives.
ILPQC, and their many renowned collaborators and stakeholders, provide evidence-based, data-driven quality improvement support and resources to the hospitals.
ILPQC’s recognition helps Advocate South Suburban Hospital continue to prosper and work towards eliminating early elective delivery, proving Illinois to be an even better place to be born.
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Media Contact
Nate Llewellyn
Director, Public Affairs & Marketing
Advocate South Suburban Hospital
nate.llewellyn@advocatehealth.com
708.213.3137 phone
708.213.0129 fax