Some of the women's team outside the Women's Pavilion

Brownsville and McAllen, TX - Valley Regional Medical Center and Rio Grande Regional Hospital, both HCA Healthcare-affiliated hospitals, today announced that they have been honored as recipients of multiple Healthgrades 2020 Women's Care Specialty Excellence Awards. These awards include the Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™, Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™ and Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award™ as recognized by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. The awards place these two facilities among a select group of hospitals--within the top 5 - 10% of all hospitals evaluated for providing outstanding quality outcomes in exceptional care of mothers during and after labor and delivery, as well as care of women undergoing gynecologic procedures, including surgery.

"I am extremely proud of our women's and surgical services colleagues for their hard work and dedication to providing superior, patient-centered care here in the Rio Grande Valley," said Bret Burton, MD, chief medical officer of Rio Grande Regional Hospital. "We are committed to delivering effective, evidence-based care and receiving these awards affirm our collective efforts to provide the treatment patients need and the quality care they deserve," added Ricardo Lemus, MD, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Valley Regional Medical Center.

Each hospital received the following awards:

Valley Regional Medical Center

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™ for 6 Years in a Row (2015-2020) and among the Top 5% of Hospitals Evaluated for Obstetrics and Gynecology for 3 Years in a Row (2018-2020)
  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™ for 6 Years in a Row (2015-2020) and among the Top 5% of Hospitals Evaluated for Labor and Delivery for 3 Years in a Row (2018-2020)
  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award™ and among the Top 10% of Hospitals Evaluated for Gynecologic Surgery for 2 Years in a Row (2019-2020)

Rio Grande Regional Hospital

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™ and among the Top 10% of Hospitals Evaluated for Obstetrics and Gynecology for 3 Years in a Row (2018-2020)
  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™ and among the Top 10% of Hospitals Evaluated for Labor and Delivery for 3 Years in a Row (2018-2020)

"We congratulate the Healthgrades 2020 Women's Care Excellence Award recipients for their commitment to providing superior care for the women within their communities," said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. "Information regarding hospital quality empowers consumers to take control of their own healthcare and make the right decisions as to where they will seek care."

To help consumers evaluate and compare hospital performance in obstetrical and gynecological procedures, labor and delivery and gynecologic surgery, Healthgrades analyzed patient outcomes data for all patients from 16 individual states for years 2016 through 2018. Healthgrades found that there is a significant variation in clinical outcomes:

  • If all hospitals in the analysis performed similarly to those that received the Healthgrades 2020 Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™, 141,823 patients with complications could have potentially been avoided.*
  • Patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™ had, on average, a 34% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award™*.
  • If all hospitals included in the analysis performed similarly to those that received the Healthgrades Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™, 124,867 patients with complications could have potentially been avoided*.
  • Patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Labor and Delivery Excellence Award™ had, on average, a 40% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award*.
  • Patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award™ had, on average, a 46.7% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award*.
  • If all hospitals in the analysis performed similarly to those receiving the Healthgrades Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award™, 10,121 patients with complications could have potentially been avoided*.

View the Healthgrades hospital quality awards and methodologies

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*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of all-payer data for years 2016 through 2018 and represent three-year estimates for patients in 16 states for which all-payer data was made available.