UF Health Shands Hospital ranked among nation’s best in maternity care

UF Health Shands Hospital has been recognized as high performing among the nation’s best for high-quality, patient-centered maternity care, according to U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural Best Hospitals for Maternity rating.

Released Tuesday, the rating, based on data from 2019, focuses on hospitals that provide the highest quality of care for uncomplicated — not high-risk — pregnancies.

“I am gratified that U.S. News is adding maternity care as part of its evaluations,” said John C. Smulian, M.D., M.P.H., the B.L. Stalnaker professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the UF College of Medicine. “This care is highly visible and a very important part of all health care systems. How institutions perform with maternity care is often indicative of how they perform across the board. A recognition like this is the result of the dedication and expertise of the entire health care team, from our clinicians — physicians, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and physician assistants — to our nurses, our support staff and our institutional leadership.”

To be eligible for this new ranking, hospitals were required to provide data on five metrics: scheduled early deliveries, rates for cesarean section births in low-risk women, newborn complications, rates of newborns exclusively fed breast milk and rates of births with unexpected complications, as well as information on whether they offer vaginal birth after C-section. Of 571 hospitals evaluated, 237 were recognized as high performing, with UF Health Shands Hospital being the only hospital in the North Central Florida region to receive this designation.

The news comes on the heels of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals survey results released in July, which placed UF Health Shands among the nation’s elite programs in six adult medical specialties, including gynecology (ranked in the top 50 nationally), after an analysis of nearly 5,000 adult hospitals.

“This is a respected recognition of the quality of care we provide to our patients and an acknowledgment of the value of our pursuit of excellence,” Smulian said. “It should also give comfort for families delivering at UF Health that yes, we perform normal, lower-risk maternity care extremely well. However, should complicated care be needed, we are ready to provide the highest levels of support to ensure safety, even when things don’t go according to plan.”

Media contact: Ken Garcia at kdgarcia@ufl.edu or 352-265-9408