California Health & Human Services Agency and Cal Hospital Compare Name RCH as one of the top 107 hospitals in the state for reducing unnecessary cesarian births
Redlands, CA. – September 20, 2023 - Redlands Community Hospital (RCH) has been named as one of the top 107 hospitals for high performance in maternity care by the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) and Cal Hospital Compare. RCH received the award for meeting or surpassing a statewide target aimed at reducing C-section births in first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies.
“Each year, Redlands Community Hospital delivers over 1,600 infants and we’re proud to earn the trust of the many families we serve and this recognition from the state of California for our high-quality maternity care,” says Redlands Community Hospital President and CEO Jim Holmes. “Our highly skilled and compassionate team of doctors, nurses, and staff share a commitment to excellence in delivering the safest patient-centered care and this recognition confirms it.”
For almost a decade, California has recognized hospitals that meet or exceed a
C-section statewide target for low-risk, first births. More than 50% of the 211 California hospitals that offer maternity services - 107 hospitals, made this year’s honor roll.
There continues to be substantial variation among individual hospital rates of low-risk, first-birth C-sections. In California, these rates range from 10% to over 40% indicating potential for further improvement. If all hospitals met the 23.6% statewide target, 2,734 C-sections would have been avoided in 2023 alone.
For mothers, 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. The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative collects the data and actively works with hospitals to safely reduce low-risk C-sections.
“I congratulate these hospitals and providers for their work in reducing medically unnecessary C-sections,” says CalHHS Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Although we have more work to do, the data shows that we are heading in the right direction.”
For more than a decade, Cal Hospital Compare has been providing Californians with objective hospital performance ratings. Cal Hospital Compare is a nonprofit organization governed by a multistakeholder board that includes representatives of hospitals, purchasers, consumer groups, and health plans. It uses an open and collaborative process to aggregate public data and establish relevant measures and scoring.
A leader in maternity care, Redlands Community Hospital also received 2023 California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) Quality and Engagement Awards for its low volume of cesarean births for low-risk first-time mothers, ongoing training, and high-quality data reporting.