California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) – a multi-stakeholder organization focused on reducing morbidity, mortality and racial disparities in California maternal care – has awarded MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center with the Quality & Sustainability Award: NTSV Cesarean Birth Rate and the Maternal Data Center (MDC) Superstar Award for Medium Birth Volume Hospitals. These awards recognize Orange Coast Medical Center for having earned at least 700 MDC utilization points, at least five MDC education hours, participated in an annual CMQCC Member Outreach Call and achieved a target cesarean birth rate of 23.6% or less among their nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex (NTSV) birthing population consecutively from 2021 – 2023.
“Our care team takes the time to minimize any health disparities by providing comfort, education, and breaking down cultural and language barriers so our patients have an exceptional maternal care experience,” says Jennifer Ayala, MSN, RNC-OB, EFM-C, PMG-C, director, maternal child health services, Childbirth Center, MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center. “When we partner together to remove fear patients may have when seeking health care, we demonstrate a level of trust and respect needed in any encounter. Receiving recognitions such as the Super Star Award and the Quality & Sustainability award from CMQCC is an honor and proof of our dedication to our patients.”
Orange Coast Medical Center’s participation with CMQCC generates real-time data on maternal care core measures. The information provided by Orange Coast Medical Center and other participating hospitals supports the development of performance metrics, statewide benchmarks, and evidence-based quality improvement initiatives to reduce preventable morbidity, mortality, and racial disparities in maternity care.
MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center offers patients language-appropriate support groups, such as the Vietnamese Postpartum Support Group. The Group creates a safe space with health care professionals who provide support and guidance to mothers who may be more comfortable speaking in their native Vietnamese language. By breaking down the language barrier, access to maternal care is made easier, allowing patients to receive the care they need without delay.
CMQCC’s priority is its ability to provide hospitals with access to near real-time benchmarking data through its online Maternal Data Center. The Maternal Data Center links state birth certificate data with each hospital’s patient discharge data to generate a wide range of perinatal performance metrics and quality improvement insights.
The Childbirth Center at Orange Coast Medical Center offers teams of highly trained obstetricians, pediatricians, perinatologists, neonatologists, certified nurse midwives, full-time lactation consultants, and should the need arise, an Obstetrical Emergency Department. The Childbirth Center has been recognized as a high-performing hospital in maternity care by U.S. News & World Report, is on the Maternity Care Honor Roll from California Health & Human Services Agency, Hospital Quality Institute, and CalHospital Compare for achieving the statewide C-section rate of 23.9% or lower for low-risk, first-birth deliveries.