February 27, 2025

Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH) has been named by U.S. News & World Report as a 2025 High Performing Hospital for Maternity Care, the highest award that a hospital can earn as part of U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care annual study.  U.S. News began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021, rating hospitals that provide labor and delivery services and submit detailed data to the publication for analysis.  The Best Hospitals for Maternity Care study assists expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, to make informed decisions about where to receive maternity services that best meets the needs of the family.
 
“The LMH Maternity Services staff is proud to showcase exceptional care for expectant parents in accordance with our mission to improve the health of the community,” said Licking Memorial Health Systems President & CEO Rob Montagnese. “Our Hospital works to create a birthing experience that meets every need, and carefully considers expectations to craft a family-centered experience and ensures our patients receive the highest quality maternity care.”
 
LMH earned a High Performing designation in recognition of maternity care as measured by factors such as severe unexpected newborn complication rates, birthing-friendly practices, and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.  U.S. News evaluated 817 hospitals across the United States.  Only half of all hospitals evaluated for U.S. News’ 2025 ratings edition have been recognized as Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.

The U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, birthing-friendly practices and reporting on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.