Hospital Program Fully Meets The Leapfrog Group’s Standards for Maternity Excellence
(New Brunswick, NJ) – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, was named to Newsweek’s 2021 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. The distinction recognizes facilities that have provided exceptional care to mothers, newborns and their families, as verified by the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Best Maternity Care Hospitals is part of Newsweek’s Best Health Care series, powered by data from The Leapfrog Group.
RWJUH delivers more than 2,500 babies annually in its designated Regional Perinatal Center, the highest level of maternal and neonatal care. In addition to state-of-the-art technology, RWJUH’s maternity center team includes nearly 50 board-certified obstetricians, five Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists, a team of genetic counselors and nationally certified Magnet-recognized nurses. RWJUH is training the next generation of obstetricians through our residency program and MFM fellowship program with faculty at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
RWJUH is also home to a Level III Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, with a team of board-certified neonatologists, nationally certified nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, speech and physical therapists, lactation consultants, nutritionists, and child life specialists. The maternity service is closely integrated with The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at RWJUH, working to get families off to a healthy start and keep on growing.
“This kind of recognition can only be achieved by a team that is 100 percent focused on the patient and their families,” said Bill Arnold, interim President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “Their unwavering dedication to evidence-based quality metrics, focus on the patient and their teamwork is inspiring to the entire RWJUH family.”
“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.”
“The RWJUH maternity team is dedicated to providing safe, comfortable and consistently excellent care for every mother who entrusts us with the delivery of their babies,” said Mark V. Sauer, M.D., M.S., Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Senior Associate Dean for Women’s Health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “Receiving this award in a year that required us to address unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic is incredibly rewarding and validates the expertise, heart and commitment of our team members.”
Hospitals named as a Best Maternity Care Hospital have fully met The Leapfrog Group’s rigorous standards for maternity care excellence. This includes achieving lower rates of C-sections (NTSV), early elective delivery, and episiotomy, as well as assuring bilirubin screening for all newborns and blood clot prevention techniques for mothers delivering via C-section.
RWJUH was one of 217 hospitals to receive the prestigious accolade, and one of only three in New Jersey.
Learn more about maternity care at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital.