Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Announces Designations of Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi and Merit Health Wesley as Blue Distinction Centers of Excellence for Maternity Care
November 18, 2021 - Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is proud to announce designation of Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi and Merit Health Wesley as Blue Distinction Centers of Excellence for Maternity Care. These facilities are being recognized by the state’s leading health and wellness company for their work in meeting stringent criteria focused on patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Blue Distinction Maternity Care Network Hospitals must first be designated by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, based on national criteria around quality, cost and total value, and then meet additional criteria as defined in the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi’s Maternity Quality Model. The Maternity Quality Model is a statewide initiative that includes maternity best practices focused on improving maternal infant health outcomes and making childbirth safer. Network Hospitals that achieve Blue Distinction have met specific quality goals of the Maternity Quality Model, demonstrating a commitment to practicing evidence-based care for moms and babies.
“The Blue Distinction for Maternity Care designation recognizes healthcare providers that demonstrate a commitment to delivering high quality care to their patients safely, efficiently and in a cost-effective manner,” said Dr. Thomas Fenter, Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi. “We will continue to highlight and support the efforts of our Network Hospitals that are focused on improving maternity care.”
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi recognizes that collaboration with its Network Providers is critical in ensuring that providers and healthcare companies share the same goals of improving care for patients. Through the Blue Primary Care Women’s Wellness Home, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is partnering with Network OB-GYNs to focus on women’s health through preventive wellness care, management of chronic conditions and coordination of care. The Wellness Home puts women at the center of their care and encourages ownership of health facilitated by an annual wellness visit and more frequent follow up visits for women with increased risks for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These illnesses can affect women’s health outcomes of pregnancy and delivery as well as impact the health of the newborn. Through the Women’s Wellness Home and the Maternity Quality Model, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is taking a comprehensive approach to women’s health by promoting quality improvement across care settings.
By implementing programs that progressively raise the bar on provider quality, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is providing Mississippians access to quality Network Providers who practice evidence-based medicine, with the overall goal of healthier Mississippians. Research confirms that Blue Distinction Centers of Excellence demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients with lower rates of complications and readmissions than their peers.
Mississippi’s Blue Distinction Maternity Care Centers of Excellence include Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, Merit Health Wesley and Singing River Hospital Ocean Springs.