... thatseemunrelatedtocardiovasculardiseaseandheartattack.1Researchhasconsistentlyshownthatwomenfareworsethanmenin the treatment of commoncardiovasculardiseases;theyaremorelikelytoexperiencedelaysincare; and theyarelesslikelytoreceiverecommendedpreventive and follow‐upcarethantheirmalecounterparts.2,3,4Inadditiontocardiovascularcare and bone and jointhealth,Healthgradesalsoevaluatespatientoutcomesinmaternitycare and gynecologicproceduresforacompleteview of women’s uniquecareneeds.Formanywomen,hospitalizationduetochildbirthistheirfirstexperiencewithinpatientcare.Toensurethatmothers‐to‐be and theirfamiliesareabletomake the bestdecisionregardingtheircare,itisimportanttohavecomparativeinformationabout the qualitydifferencesthatexistamonghospitalmaternitycareprograms.For the firstpart of thisstudy,Healthgradesanalyzedin‐hospitalcomplication and mortalityratesamong16 of the mostcommondiagnoses and proceduresamongwomen65 and older, and identified176 of the nation’s4,783hospitalsthatexcelledin the treatment of women.Healthgradesdesignatedthese176hospitalsas Women’s HealthExcellenceAwardhospitals. From 2008to2010,ifallhospitalsperformedat the level of Women’s HealthExcellenceAwardhospitalsacross the 16procedures and diagnosesstudied,anadditional39,450womencouldhavepotentiallysurvivedtheirhospitalization, and 19,062womencouldhaveavoidedamajorin‐hospitalcomplication.Comparedtopoor‐performinghospitals, Women’s HealthExcellenceAwardhospitalshad: ... WI*DistinctioncannotbeusedwithoutaLicensingAgreement from HealthGrades,Inc.15©Copyright2012HealthGrades,Inc.Allrightsreserved.HealthgradesMaternityCare5‐StarHospitals and MaternityCareExcellenceAwardRecipients2012byDesignatedMarketArea The followinghospitalsare5‐starratedinMaternityCare.Alsoindicatedarerecipients of the HealthgradesMaternityCareExcellenceAward*in2012,indicatingthattheywereamong the best10% of hospitalsmeetingminimumvolumerequirements.Some of the hospitalshavemultiplelocations.Inthesecases,resultsforalllocationswereusedin the analysis and each of the facilitiesisdesignatedasa5‐starhospitalorarecipient of the awardasindicated.Table4.MaternityCare5‐StarHospitals and MaternityCareExcellenceAwardRecipients2012*DistinctioncannotbeusedwithoutaLicensingAgreement from HealthGrades,Inc.Continued…DesignatedMarketAreaAwardRecipientsMaternityCare5‐StarHospitals2012* ... MemorialHermannSoutheastHospital Houston TX MemorialHermann The WoodlandsHospital Shenandoah TXMemorialHermannSugarLandHospital SugarLand TX x MethodistSugarLandHospital SugarLand TX...