CARIBOU — Cary Medical Center has received the Women’s Choice Award from Women Certified distinguishing it as one of the 2013 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience in Obstetrics. According to Cary officials, the award is based on robust criteria that include female patient satisfaction measurements as well as clinical excellence considerations. Women Certified represents the collective voice of female consumers and is a trusted referral source for top businesses and brands identified as meeting the needs and preferences of women.
“Cary Medical Center has a long tradition of excellence in obstetric care,” said Kris Doody, RN, CEO of the hospital. “This recognition by Women Certified is further evidence that women in Aroostook County appreciate the high level of clinical quality and patient satisfaction that is delivered by our staff.”
Delia Passi, CEO and founder of Women Certified said that the Women’s Choice Award represents exceptional performance.
“Women have many choices when it comes to maternity care and they set a standard for customer service,” said Passi, who is the former publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother Magazines. “Women’s Choice Award recipients have demonstrated extraordinary service in meeting the needs of women and their families, and represent the smart choice for women.”
Hospitals qualify for this highly selective annual list based on an in-depth proprietary scoring process. The scoring incorporates a national standardized survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and an analysis that weighs criteria identified as the most important to women for patient satisfaction.
Additionally, the scoring incorporates Women Certified’s in depth research on customer satisfaction among women, including a joint study on customer satisfaction by gender conducted with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Hospitals were also screened based on clinical criteria.
“Recognizing the best hospitals for obstetrics nationwide that are women-friendly and align with women’s identified preferences is important to our mission at Women Certified, where women help other women with tough, consumer decisions,” Passi concludes. “Most importantly, when a woman sees the Women’s Choice Award at her local hospital, she’ll know the hospital values her experience as a critical component of her and her loved one’s care.”
Jen Plante, RN, nurse manager on the maternal child unit at Cary Medical Center, said that the growth of the OB program at the hospital has been remarkable and that patients often reflect on their experience of having their baby at Cary.
“Cary Medical Center now delivers more babies than any other hospital north of Bangor,” said Plante. “In 2012 we had more births at Cary than at any time over the past 17 years. Our staff is thrilled with our success and it appears that women are, too,” she added.
Cary’s family-centered obstetrics program includes the option of a water birth and home-like birthing rooms with large birthing beds. The hospital also offers free childbirth education classes and an infant car seat safety program. A number of nurses who staff the maternal child unit are also lactation consultants, providing support for breast feeding moms and the hospital’s anesthesia department offers both epidural and intrathecal anesthesia options.
Cary Medical Center works closely with the Center for Women and Children’s Health at Pines Health Services. Pine’s is a federally qualified health center employing a variety of primary care and specialty healthcare providers including physicians specializing in obstetrics and gynecology and certified nurse mid-wives.
For more information on the obstetrics program at Cary Medical Center, call the hospital’s public relation’s office at 498-1112.
