The following has been rewritten from a press release.

Two local Virginia Mason Franciscan Health hospitals were named in this year’s Newsweek list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals: Enumclaw’s St. Elizabeth Hospital in St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way.

Both hospitals took four out of five ribbons from Newsweek, the second-highest honor awarded by the magazine. Newsweek’s evaluation is based on a nationwide online survey of hospital managers and maternity health care professionals; key performance indicators surrounding maternity care; and patient satisfaction data.

This is the third consecutive year St. Elizabeth Hospital has been recognized, and the fourth consecutive year St. Francis has been recognized, according to Virginia Mason.

Both hospitals were among only a dozen that received four or fiver ribbons from the Newsweek rankings this year. The four five-ribbon hospitals are located in Bellevue, Seattle and Issaquah.

Across the country, 159 hospitals earned five ribbons; another 225 earned four ribbons. The 384 evaluated in total are considered the “leading maternity hospitals in the U.S.” by Newsweek.

Family birth teams at both hospitals ensure that high-quality care is a priority for all families. These metrics include very high levels of exclusive breastfeeding, competitively low C-section rates, and nearly a quarter of deliveries by Certified Nurse Midwives.

“This is an honor and a privilege to receive this recognition,” says Kelle M. Dragich, MN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, King County Region Nursing Director, Family Birth Centers.

“Our goal is to provide high quality health care with compassion and empathy,” Sonali Singh, MD, FACOG, Ob/Gyn Section Chief at St. Francis Hospital said. “When patients are here at St. Francis, we strive to ensure it is the best experience that they can get. To that end, we are constantly pushing ourselves to be better, with quality projects, creativity and innovations.”

Jennifer Duran, BSN, RNC, and Family Birth Center Manager at St. Elizabeth in Enumclaw said “Our team really makes each family’s birth experience their number one priority. We take pride in our stellar patient experience scores and excellent quality metrics that demonstrate this commitment.”