Butler Memorial Hospital's maternity ward has been placed on Newsweek's 2020 Best Maternity Care list. The maternity ward was also on the 2019 list.

For the second year in a row, Newsweek placed Butler Memorial Hospital in its Best Maternity Care list.

Newsweek's 2020 list recognizes 231 maternity wards in 36 states that excelled in five categories of patient care in 2019.

The wards are evaluated by the national nonprofit Leapfrog Group, which reports on the safety and quality performance of U.S. health care facilities, according to its website.

Butler Memorial Hospital is one of nine Pennsylvania hospitals that made the list. Nancy Gross, BMH's director of the OB/GYN unit, said the quality of care in the maternity ward is because of the cooperation of its 42 nurses, five physicians and three midwives. “We have an excellent team of nurses here who are very dedicated, love their jobs and very passionate in the work they do,” Gross said.

She said the hospital began collecting data to submit to the list in 2018, which led to it being placed on the 2019 Best Maternity Care list. Maternity units must have low rates of early elective delivery, C-sections on first-time mothers and episiotomy, or incisions made in the perineum during births. They also must have high rates of screenings for bilirubin levels and blood clot prevention.

Gross said BMH delivers about 850 babies every year, so having certified high quality care helps patients feel safe during a potentially stressful time.

“We want folks to be able to come here to deliver their babies,” she said. “I know if I was a young mother having a baby that I would want to be somewhere I know is safe.”

Gross said the staff of the OB/GYN unit works closely with Mindy Dunkerley, director of quality at the hospital, to collect the necessary data for Newsweek's list and to make sure the unit stays up to par.

“We meet with the physicians and we review the data, and if we start to slip in any particular category, we make tweaks,” Gross said.

She said participating in the data collection helps the maternity ward keep high standards, which leads to good morale among the staff and the patients.

“It's not something that happens without effort, and I think that's the goal behind the list,” Gross said. “Quality leads to good outcomes, and that leads to a good environment.”