Central Mass. hospitals awarded for maternal, substance abuse, heart & stroke care

Photo | Google Heywood Hospital in Gardner

Write a Comment

Central Massachusetts hospitals are bringing home a range of awards for the care they offer.

Among them, Heywood Hospital in Gardner was named a best maternal care hospital by Newsweek, the only such facility in Central Massachusetts to receive the honor and one of seven in Massachusetts. Heywood and others were reviewed by metrics including rates of early elective delivery and compliance with newborn bilirubin screening and blood clot prevention techniques for mothers delivering by C-section.

Newsweek, which rates hospitals in partnership with the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit reviewing hospitals twice a year based on factors including staff and patient safety and medical errors. Less than 250 hospitals nationally were named to Newsweek's maternity care list.

Three Central Massachusetts substance abuse treatment facilities also made Newsweek's list: Recovery Centers of America at Westminster, McLean Hospital's Fernside facility in Princeton, and Spectrum Health Systems in Westborough. They were among nine honored statewide.

Heywood, along with Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Natick, and Milford Regional Medical Center, has also made the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s achievement award for stroke care by meeting measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients, including proper use of medication and treatments that are in line with the latest standards of care.

Saint Vincent, MetroWest and Milford Regional won the groups' gold award, and Heywood its silver. Saint Vincent was also designated a primary stroke care center and received a related honor for hospitals limiting the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, a drug treating ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.