Ascension Sacred Heart’s hospitals in Pensacola and Miramar Beach have been named to Newsweek’s 2021 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast and Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola were two of only seven hospitals in Florida named to the list. The Best Maternity Care distinction recognizes facilities that have provided exceptional care to mothers, newborns and their families, as verified by the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent nonprofit that monitors the quality and safety of health care. Best Maternity Care Hospitals are hospitals that meet Leapfrog’s tough standards for excellence in maternity care: hospitals that have low rates of C-section, episiotomy, and early elective deliveries, and follow important protocols to protect moms and babies. Though these are standards aligned with medical research and best practices, not all hospitals achieve them.

“Best Maternity Care Hospitals showcases an elite group of hospitals nationwide, ” said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief of Newsweek. “These facilities should be commended for the care they provide to women and families, and for giving babies a strong start to life. As families continue to cope with the effects on the pandemic, this information can support Newsweek’s readership in planning for one of life’s most precious moments.”

Approximately 1,350 babies were born last year at the Emerald Coast hospital in South Walton County.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast consistently earns high marks against national competition for its patient satisfaction scores and quality of care. In the fall of 2020, the hospital earned a grade of “A” on Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grade.

Using up to 27 evidence-based measures of patient safety, Leapfrog calculated a numerical score for all eligible hospitals in the U.S. Taken together, those performance measures produce a single letter grade representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors. “A” represents the best Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.

Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit and Catholic health system in the U.S., Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2020, Ascension provided $2.4 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes more than 160,000 associates and 40,000 aligned providers. The national health system operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

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