HOUSTON, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Northwest Medical Center announced today that HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings company, recognized them among the top 15% of hospitals for Maternity Care services as a recipient of a 5-Star Rating for 2009/2010. Houston Northwest Medical Center is one of only 218 hospitals nation-wide to be named a recipient of this prestigious distinction. HealthGrades found that wide gaps continue to persist in quality outcomes for maternity care and the best-performing hospitals had far fewer complications compared with poor-performing hospitals. The Sixth Annual HealthGrades Women's Health in American Hospitals study found that best-performing hospitals had 52% fewer maternal complications among women who had vaginal births at their facility compared to poor-performing hospitals. In addition, among women who had either C-sections or Patient-choice C-sections at these top performing hospitals, they experienced 76% and 84% fewer complications respectively. "To be ranked among the top 15 percent in the nation for maternity care is a great honor and is a tribute to our physicians and staff who deliver quality care to our patients year after year," said Becky Winders, women's services nursing director at Houston Northwest Medical Center. Study findings include the following: -- If all hospitals, among the 19 states studied, performed at the level of the best-performing hospitals from 2005 through 2007, 182,129 women may have avoided developing one or more in-hospital major obstetrics complications. -- Best-performing hospitals had a 56% lower weight-stratified neonatal mortality compared to poor-performing hospitals. -- C-section rates average approximately 32% among the 19 states studied. -- Quality inconsistencies are seen when comparing states; those with the lowest complication rates have almost half the complications compared with states that had the highest complication rates. "For many women, having a baby is their first experience with hospitalization, and as this study shows, it really matters which hospital is chosen," said Dr. Rick May, a senior physician consultant with HealthGrades and a study co-author. "But now women have a way of identifying hospitals with outstanding track records in terms of the outcomes of other new mothers. That's a powerful tool for all women as they plan for their birth." HealthGrades analyzed approximately 13 million hospital delivery and neonate records from 2005 through 2007 in more than 1,500 hospitals in 19 all-payer states for this study and identified 218 hospitals as being five-star rated in maternity care. The full HealthGrades study can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com/. For more information about Houston Northwest Medical Center, call 281-580-0000 or visit http://www.hnmc.com/. About Houston Northwest Medical Center Houston Northwest Medical Center is located at 710 F.M. 1960 West in Houston. Houston Northwest Medical Center has been serving the North Houston community for 35 years. The hospital is an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Houston Northwest Medical Center ranks among the nation's top hospitals for several service lines including critical care, stroke and general surgery by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company. Houston Northwest Medical Center is also a designated Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. To learn more about Houston Northwest Medical Center, a facility accredited by The Joint Commission, visit http://www.hnmc.com/. Contact: Theresa Lewis Houston Northwest Medical Center (281) 440-2444 or Scott Shapiro (720) 963-6584 DATASOURCE: Houston Northwest Medical Center CONTACT: Theresa Lewis of Houston Northwest Medical Center, +1-281-440-2444, ; or Scott Shapiro of HealthGrades, +1-720-963-6584, Web Site: http://www.hnmc.com/

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