Good Samaritan’s Women and Infants Center is working to become designated
as a Level II Perinatal Hospital. Due to Indiana’s high infant mortality
rate of 7.1 per 1,000 births, which is above the national rate of 6.3,
the Indiana State Department of Health has put a focus on standardizing
perinatal levels of care. This standardization includes four levels of
care, with level I being basic care to pregnant women and infants, up
to level IV being capable of caring for the most complex and critically
ill pregnant women and infants.
Good Samaritan’s Women and Infants Center’s level II means
that care can be provided to high-risk pregnant women, both admitted and
transferred to Good Samaritan from a lower level of care facility. It
also means that Good Samaritan can deliver and provide specialized care
to infants who weigh more than 1,500 grams and are born at 32 weeks gestation
and above.
For the community, this will allow family to receive the appropriate care,
keeping families together for a better support system. “Most of
the surrounding hospitals are a level I, and as a Level II Perinatal Hospital
we are able to keep more babies in our facility,” stated Margaret
Suozzi, Director of Women and Infants at Good Samaritan. “The infants
that are more sick and need critical care, will be sent to a Level III
or IV hospital, but once they are stable, they can come back home to Good
Samaritan. Studies show that when a baby is able to stay close to home
around family and support, their outcomes are much better.”
During a recent survey and gap analysis by the State Department of Health,
Good Samaritan was complimented for going above and beyond the maternal
and neonatal standards that would qualify the unit as a level II. The
designation of these new standardized levels will not take effect until
sometime in 2017.
“The results of the recent survey and the news that we are on track
to be designated as a perinatal level II represents the highest quality
of care and expertise shown by our Women and Infants Center employees,”
added Rob McLin, President and CEO of Good Samaritan. “Our physicians
and nurses are constantly working toward better health practices, and
their ability to work alongside the patient and their family is a huge
benefit to the communities we serve.”
Good Samaritan is one of 27 hospitals in the state of Indiana that would
be designated as a level II.