RELEASE

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Recognizes 47 Hospitals Statewide for High-Quality, Safer Maternity Care

Meghan O'Brien

| 4 min read

DETROIT, February 7, 2018 – Roughly 113,000 babies are born in Michigan each year. Thanks to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, expectant parents have a tool to help them find hospitals that provide high-quality, cost-effective maternity care services. Blue Cross has designated 47 hospitals throughout the state as Blue Distinction ® Center and Blue Distinction® Center+ for maternity care. To earn a Blue Distinction Center designation for Maternity Care, hospitals must meet quality measures for vaginal and cesarean delivery. Blue Distinction Centers show expertise in improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community. Facilities also should demonstrate Family Centered Care practices, such as allowing mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day, or be designated as a Baby-Friendly Hospital by Baby-Friendly USA. Facilities earning a Blue Distinction Center+ designation have also demonstrated cost-efficiency compared to peers. In all cases, facilities are assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from medical claims. These designations meet or exceed requirements under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. “Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation is an indication of quality performance, safe and effective care for the many thousands of Michigan residents who add to their families,” says Amy McKenzie, MD, MBA, medical director, Value Parternships, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “We congratulate all the designated hospitals for their commitment to providing this high level of care.” These Michigan hospitals have earned Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care:
  • Beaumont Hospital - Dearborn
  • Beaumont Hospital - Farmington Hills
  • Beaumont Hospital - Grosse Pointe
  • Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak
  • Beaumont Hospital - Troy
  • Beaumont Hospital - Wayne
  • Bronson Battle Creek
  • Bronson Methodist Hospital
  • Covenant Medical Center
  • Garden City Hospital
  • Henry Ford Allegiance Health
  • Henry Ford Hospital
  • Henry Ford Macomb Hospital
  • Henry Ford West Bloomfield
  • Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital
  • Hurley Medical Center
  • Huron Valley Sinai Hospital
  • McLaren Bay Regional Medical Center
  • McLaren Flint
  • McLaren Greater Lansing
  • McLaren Northern Michigan
  • Mercy Health Saint Mary's
  • Metro Health Hospital
  • Midmichigan Medical Center Alpena
  • Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital
  • Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital
  • Munson Medical Center
  • Promedica Bixby Hospital
  • Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital
  • Sinai-Grace Hospital
  • Sparrow Carson City Hospital
  • Spectrum Health Butterworth Campus
  • Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial
  • Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital
  • Spectrum Health Pennock
  • Spectrum Health United Hospital
  • Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital
  • Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital
  • St. John Hospital & Medical Center
  • St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor
  • St. Joseph Mercy Oakland
  • St. Mary Mercy Hospital Livonia Campus
  • University of Michigan Hospital Main Campus
These Michigan hospitals have earned Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care:
  • Harper University Hospital & Hutzel Women’s Hospital
  • Lakeland Community Hospital Niles
  • Lakeland Hospital at Niles & St Joseph
  • Mercy Health Muskegon
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find high quality providers for their specialty care needs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants. Research shows that compared to other facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. On average, Blue Distinction Centers+ are also 20 percent more cost-efficient than non-Blue Distinction Center+ designated health care facilities. For more information about the program, visit bcbs.com/bluedistinction. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com or mibluesperspectives.com. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for nearly 105 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA. Blue Distinction Centers met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A local Blue plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your local Blue plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its local Blue plan. Facilities in California, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington may lie in two local Blue plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluations must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your local Blue plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. 
MI Blue Daily is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association