The new Maternity Care Access Hospital distinction brings recognition to UM Shore Regional Health’s commitment to creating health care access points for patients throughout the Region.
EASTON, MD
UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, a University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) hospital, has been recognized for the fourth consecutive year as High Performing in Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. This is the highest award a hospital can earn as part of U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care annual study. U.S. News & World Report has also named UM Shore Medical Center at Easton as a 2025 Maternity Care Access Hospital.
U.S. News began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021. Best Hospitals for Maternity Care assist expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, in making informed decisions about where to receive maternity services that best meets their family’s needs. Hospitals from across the nation that provide labor and delivery services submitted detailed data to the publication for analysis; 817 hospitals participated in this year’s U.S. News survey and only half of all hospitals evaluated for U.S. News’ 2025 ratings edition have been recognized as a Best Hospital for Maternity Care.
UM Shore Regional Health is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System. University of Maryland Medical Center also was recognized as High Performing in Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) for 2025.
“Our Birthing Center teams and UM Shore Medical Group – Women’s Health providers deserve tremendous credit for achieving this distinction and maintaining this ranking for the fourth year in a row,” said Danielle Wilson, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, UM SRH. “This accomplishment speaks to the dedication of every single one of our team members, as well as to the alignment across the University of Maryland Medical System toward our priority of becoming a High Reliability Organization. Being named a Maternity Care Access Hospital is tremendous validation that we are on the right path to achieving our goals.”
Earning this recognition required UM Shore Medical Center at Easton to excel on quality metrics that matter to expectant families, such as severe unexpected newborn complication rates and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, C-sections among lower-risk pregnancies, early elective delivery rates, the hospital’s ability to meet federal criteria for birth-friendly practices and how successfully the hospital supports breastfeeding.
“Hospitals that receive a High Performing designation as part of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care meet a high standard in caring for parents with uncomplicated pregnancies,” said Jennifer Winston, Health Data Scientist at U.S. News. “These hospitals have C-section rates that are 26 percent lower and newborn complication rates that are 37 percent lower than unrecognized hospitals.
On average, nearly 1,000 babies a year are delivered at the hospital’s Birthing Center. UM SRH has OB/GYN physicians and anesthesiologists on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Pediatric coverage is also provided around the clock by UM School of Medicine and UM Shore Medical Group-Pediatrics providers in the hospital.
“We are proud to earn this recognition for a fourth year,” said Jessica Genrich, MBA, RNC, Director of Women and Children’s Services at UM SRH. “This honor highlights Shore Regional Health’s commitment to providing the highest-quality maternity care to our Eastern Shore families. It also reflects the dedication of our providers, nurses and techs delivering compassionate, evidence-based care.”
U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care ratings now recognize hospitals offering essential maternity services to underserved communities. The Maternity Care Access Hospital designation recognizes essential hospitals serving communities that would be in danger of becoming “maternity care deserts” if they were to stop providing crucial maternity care services. Only 14 percent of all U.S. News evaluated hospitals have been designated as Maternity Care Access Hospitals.
The U.S. News Maternity Care Access Hospitals designation is based on a number of measures including geographic isolation, number of obstetric providers per 10,000 births and hospital quality. Maternity Care Access Hospitals must also meet quality measures for C-section, severe unexpected newborn complications, and episiotomy.
“U.S. News awarded the Maternity Care Access Hospital designation to just 118 hospitals nationwide,” said Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News. “These hospitals ensure continued access to critical maternity care services and demonstrate their dedication to closing the gap in maternity care deserts.
Parents-to-be can research their local hospitals’ performance metrics for free at health.usnews.com to help them choose where to have their baby.
For information about The Birthing Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, including a list of the 2025 Childbirth and Parent Education courses and 2025 Safe Sitter in-person courses, visit umshoreregional.org/birthing.