Two LVHN Hospitals Nationally Recognized for Maternity Care

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono are nationally recognized for providing high-quality care to infants and their mothers.

Both hospitals are among 384 health care organizations named to Newsweek’s Best Maternity Hospitals 2023 list. This award is presented by Newsweek and Statista, an international statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

“Being recognized by Newsweek as one of the nation’s top maternity care hospitals was earned by all colleagues who care for new mothers and their babies at LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono,” says Amanda Flicker, MD, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). “We have a comprehensive team of midwives, physicians and nurses who go above and beyond to provide excellent care. I am incredibly proud of all my colleagues.”

To determine the nation’s best maternity care hospitals, Newsweek and Statista invited more than 10,000 medical professionals to participate in a survey. This includes neonatal and perinatal doctors, nurses and midwives who were asked to recommend the nation’s best maternity hospital. Results were determined by two other data sources:

• Medical key performance indicators on hospitals with a focus on indicators relevant to maternity care
• Results from patient surveys

LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono provide new mothers and their babies individualized care plans based on their needs. This means taking a team-based approach to provide high-quality care at all levels of risk. Care teams consist of highly-trained obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine specialists, nurses and midwives. LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono are the only hospitals in the region to offer midwife care to patients.

The maternity care team is continually learning with education opportunities. The instruction offers each member insights about best-care practices at all levels, including critical moments, during an emergency.    

LVHN hospitals in the Lehigh Valley region are Magnet-recognized, which means our nurses demonstrate excellence and deliver high quality. Only 8% of hospitals have earned Magnet recognition.

Taking a comprehensive approach to maternity and infant care means LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono can provide exceptional care to our smallest patients.

LVH–Cedar Crest is home to the only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the region, and LVH–Pocono has a Level III NICU. Both NICUs provide therapies specific to the needs of each newborn, care teams have advanced training, and the facilities are state-of-the art.    

New mothers who experience hypertensive disorders after pregnancy have help after being discharged from the hospital with LVHN’s Continuous Ambulatory Remote Engagement Services (CARES) and Heart Health After Preeclampsia programs. Both programs, offered by LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Pocono, provide remote heart-monitoring for mothers who have hypertensive disorders or were diagnosed with preeclampsia during pregnancy.