Brookings Health Earns Birthing-Friendly Designation

Brookings Health System is given an inaugural Birthing-Friendly designation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services . It is the first-ever hospital quality designation by the Department of Health & Human Services that specifically focuses on maternal health.

CMS created the new designation to identify hospitals and health systems who participate in a statewide or national perinatal quality improvement collaborative program and implement evidence-based quality care to improve maternal health. 

One measure CMS gauges are elective deliveries scheduled one to two weeks early when it is not medically necessary. According to Care Compare, no patients at Brookings Health System were unnecessarily delivered early, ranking better than the South Dakota average of three percent and the national average of two percent.

Brookings Health System’s OB unit, New Beginnings Birth Center, has eight beds consisting of five labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites and three recovery rooms. 

November 30, 2023