34 Indiana Hospitals Wouldn't Meet National Standards For Lowest Level Of Care For Newborns And Infants

Nearly one-third of Indiana counties don’t have obstetrics services, and many Hoosier hospitals don’t have levels of care that are on par with national standards. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics developed three categories to define a hospital’s level of care for newborns and infants, with Level One being basic to Level Three the most specialized. Unlike the majority of states, Indiana doesn’t have protocols for classifying its hospitals’ levels of care.

The State Department of Health initiated a survey of Indiana hospitals, asking them to self-evaluate their classification.  Maureen Greer, of the Indiana Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, says of the 88 hospitals surveyed, most overestimated their level of care when compared to national standards.

“And there were 34 hospitals that could not even meet the first level of OB care," Greer said. "So we had hospitals with so many missing elements that they could not meet the very lowest criteria for the hospital standards.”

Greer says missing the standards could be because of a lack of written policies, training programs or equipment.

The Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children Wednesday adopted a recommendation that the state create a Levels of Care certification program for all Indiana birthing hospitals.