Maimonides Medical Center has been recognized with a five-star rating for clinical excellence in women's health services, based on a recently published study by HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent healthcare ratings company. This places Maimonides in the top 10 % of hospitals in the nation for women's health programs in stroke, cardiac and maternity services.

“Our goal is to provide excellent care to the communities we serve,” said Maimonides President and CEO Pamela S. Brier. “It is most gratifying for all of us at Maimonides to be recognized for excellence in our services to women patients. And we will continue to strive to improve the quality of our care.”

Maimonides has been recognized in the past for outstanding patient outcomes in stroke and cardiac services by a number of independent outside sources. And the Payson Birthing Center at Maimonides is renowned for excellence, delivering more babies annually than any other hospital in the state of New York.

This HealthGrades award is unique, however, in that it separates stroke and cardiac data by gender, and combines it with maternity outcomes to create an overall picture of women's health in those three key areas.

Specifically, the HealthGrades study analyzed the outcomes of women admitted with heart disease and stroke to more than 1,400 US hospitals. The best-performing hospitals, those rated with five stars, had an overall risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rate that was 40% lower than poor performing hospitals. The HealthGrades ratings for maternity care are based on the evaluation of complication rates for c-sections and conventional deliveries, delivery volume, and neonatal mortality.

“The fact is, a close analysis of the data shows that the quality of women's health services varies widely from hospital to hospital,” explained Samantha Collier, HealthGrades Chief Medical Officer. “So, it's important for individuals to have this vital information as they evaluate hospitals.”

Maimonides has a number of other programs that focus on the health of women. On the Medical Center's website, visitors can click a tab at the top of the screen for “Women's Health” in order to find general information and links to the specific programs that cater to the needs of women. Among those innovative programs are: Mature Woman's Health Program, Breast Center, Sleep Disorders, Weight Loss Surgery and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. For more information, please log-on to www.maimonidesmed.org.