Hospitals Chosen For First-Of-A-Kind Maternity Initiative
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Shawnee Mission Medical Center, TMC Lakewood chosen by Cerner for first-of-a-kind maternity initiative, “utilization of technology” cited as one reason
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Kansas City, MO, hospitals, Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC) and Truman Medical Center (TMC) Lakewood, have entered into a strategic partnership with healthcare innovator Cerner to provide a new maternity benefit program to Cerner’s 3,500 employees based in the Kansas City region. This first-of-its-kind maternity initiative demonstrates Cerner’s commitment to transform health care and each hospital’s reputation for patient-centered care and will serve as a model for innovative maternity programming.
“Within Cerner, we have a lot of new Cerner parents and growing families each year,” said Julie Wilson, Cerner’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer. “We saw a unique opportunity to partner strategically with two health systems that have taken maternity care to the next level and have the ability to deliver an experience unlike any other.” A shared vision to improve quality, experience, and cost led to the selection of two of the many hospitals in Kansas City from which to choose.
Shawnee Mission Medical Center is a 504-bed facility with Kansas City’s largest medical staff of 700 physicians. A member of the Adventist Health System, its 54-acre campus also houses an outpatient surgery center, community health education building, six physician office buildings, and an associate child care center. SMMC’s nationally recognized Center for Women’s Health is home to the Birth Center with 26 Labor & Delivery suites, delivering more babies than any other hospital in the metropolitan area. “This innovative relationship will ensure that Cerner employees are supported throughout their pregnancy and birth experience, and are successful after discharge from the hospital,” said Denise Martinek, Executive Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at SMMC. “We are grateful to have been selected for our commitment to quality and exceptional service and look forward to caring for Cerner employees and their families as they bring new life into the world.”
Truman Medical Center Lakewood is a 145-bed primary care community hospital with a 188-bed long term care center and is a part of the TMC Health System, a non-profit two acute-care hospital system. The primary teaching hospital for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmacy, the system is the largest safety net healthcare provider in the area. Home to the brand new Lakewood Family Birthplace, TMC Lakewood houses 19 Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Postpartum (LDRP) suites and offers specialization in high risk pregnancies. Officials look forward to “continuing our combined efforts to innovate the healthcare industry with state-of-the-art care environments and dedication to quality patient outcomes,” said John W. Bluford, TMC President and CEO. “This provides the optimum birthing environment backed up by top quality pre-natal care, family medicine, pediatrics, and a host of specialty care programs that give our patients and their families the best in healthcare from birth through their senior years.”
Cerner and its Certified Maternity Partners will work to innovate a market-leading maternity benefit plan that spans from pre-conception to back-to-work, reduces errors and creates efficiency through technology platforms, creates a new health economy by realigning stakeholders and incentives, and most importantly, improves health outcomes for Cerner associates and their babies. “We are encouraged that we have solidified a unique and effective relationship which will have significant clinical impacts and improve the overall quality of care,” said David Nill, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Cerner. “We feel this model will be one that is studied and replicated across the nation.”
SOURCE: GlobeNewswire