McKenzie Willamette Medical Center Recognized as a “Birthing-Friendly” Facility The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Care Compare tool has a new feature that allows consumers to find hospitals and health systems with a Birthing-Friendly designation, indicating it participates in a state or national perinatal quality improvement program. Birthing-Friendly is the first-ever CMS designation to describe high-quality maternity care. “I am extremely proud of our entire team at McKenzie Willamette Medical Center as we earn the international Birthing-Friendly designation.” said Kimberly Snauer, RN, MSN, Manager of Women’s Health, Birth, and Children’s Center at McKenzie Willamette Medical Center.

“We pride ourselves in evidence-based perinatal quality measures and will continue our dedication to improving maternal health. We are honored to be recognized as a CMS Birthing-Friendly facility.” added Snauer. Eighty percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people have the highest rates of pregnancy-related death. Pregnant and postpartum people from some racial and ethnic minority groups are also more likely to have negative healthcare experiences during pregnancy and delivery that impact the quality of care they receive and health outcomes. The Birthing-Friendly designation is a step towards ensuring that all pregnant and postpartum people can find high-quality maternity care. “As maternal health inequities persist across the nation, the designation offers a tangible marker of the evidence-based practices that hospitals can pursue to close these gaps and ultimately provide the kind of care all parents deserve,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, CMS Administrator.