In May 2025, New Orleans–based Ochsner Baptist received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care—the only hospital in the city to earn that designation.
“We are committed to ensuring that every mother and baby receives the highest level of care supported by compassionate expertise,” said Jane Martin MD, maternal-fetal medicine physician and medical director of obstetrics at Ochsner Baptist. “This certification highlights the collaboration and shared vision of the Ochsner Baptist women’s services team.”
Ochsner Health is part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
The Gold Seal came after an on-site visit, during which The Joint Commission surveyors reviewed practices ranging from labor and delivery protocols to clinical outcomes and staff collaboration.
Ochsner Health was then recognized for its organization-wide commitment to quality, safety and collaboration across the continuum of care. For the teams at Ochsner, the Gold Seal is more than well-earned recognition—it is a testament to their commitment to continuous improvement and delivering care throughout Louisiana.
“The Gold Seal sets a high bar for facilities to provide evidence-based medicine focused on improving quality, performance and safety,” Dr. Martin explained. “Our team spent a long time preparing. Not just gathering patient charts and data sets but really demonstrating what we do well and how we do it.”
Notably, the obstetrics and gynecology service line has ranked nationally, at No. 13 in the United States, for women’s health care by U.S. News & World Report—an achievement led by the teams at Ochsner Baptist and Ochsner Medical Center–West Bank.
Collaboration is at the heart
Ochsner Baptist has established and standardized care protocols that meet or exceed national benchmarks in perinatal services. They address conditions that affect pregnancy, such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as maternal sepsis, postpartum hemorrhage and rates for cesarean deliveries.
Most importantly, Dr. Martin said, is that “the initiatives we’ve launched allow us to deliver high-quality care, consistently, safely, efficiently and immediately.”
Collaboration is at the heart of Ochsner’s approach across disciplines and across the region. Each month, teams from maternal-fetal medicine, cardiology, anesthesiology, intensive care and neonatology come together to review high-risk cases and plan care strategies across the health system.
For example, Ochsner Women’s Health Center in rural Raceland, Louisiana, is almost 45 miles away—the town has a population of around 10,000. The care team there includes four ob-gyns, one midwife, and a family medicine physician.
“That’s the beautiful thing about rural medicine,” said Kellin Reynolds, MD, an ob-gyn at Ochsner Women’s Health Center–Raceland. “We’re such a small group that we can quickly implement new initiatives and respond to individual cases with agility.”
One of the most impactful changes has been the introduction of Tele-NICU, which provides 24/7 remote access to perinatologists through a virtual kiosk.
“It’s been the single biggest advancement in maternity care at our hospital,” said Dr. Reynolds.
Hands-on, personalized care statewide
Being part of the larger Ochsner Health system has expanded access to specialized care in rural settings.
“Maternal-fetal medicine specialists now visit our office twice a month and see high-risk patients in person or via televisit,” Dr. Reynolds said. “We also have a urogynecologist and a women’s pelvic health physical therapy team on-site regularly. That’s unheard of in most rural settings.”
Ochsner Health’s perinatal care ecosystem includes certified nurse midwives, including Jimi Aucoin, CNM, who works with five physicians and eight other midwives in Baton Rouge. Midwives are a vital part of Ochsner’s perinatal care ecosystem and allow patients to receive both low-intervention and high-risk care locally at Ochsner Health Center–O'Neal, Ochsner Medical Complex–The Grove, and several clinics.
“We educate our patients and their families, spend time with them throughout their pregnancies, and empower them to make their own choices,” Aucoin said. “We’re part of a highly trained, highly supportive care team that provides a birth experience with personalized, hands-on care.”
Ochsner offers a variety of alternative birthing options, supports water births, and offers in-hospital tub deliveries at some of its locations.
“We also have one of the highest vaginal births after cesarean section rates in the state, and helping a mom who has had a previous C-section to deliver vaginally is such a powerful moment,” Aucoin said. “Many of our patients who receive midwifery care refer their sisters, friends and other women to us because they know they’ll be seen, heard and supported.”
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Delivering care beyond the hospital
Ochsner’s satellite clinics, mobile services and digital capabilities extend care to families in the most remote or underserved areas. Heavy investment in telemedicine allows maternal-fetal physicians to conduct remote visits, useful for services that don’t necessarily require an in-person meeting.
“Sometimes all a patient needs is for me to weigh in on labs or medications. I can do that wherever they are, and the patient doesn’t have to drive hours to see me,” said Dr. Martin. “They’re more likely to attend a telemedicine appointment because it fits their routine. We’ve seen patients while they’re in bed, with their kids at the breakfast table, and even on a fishing boat. We’ve made care more accessible, and that’s the first step to improving outcomes.”
Connected MOM (Maternity Online Monitoring) is an initiative that provides patients with a Bluetooth enabled blood pressure cuff that transmits readings to their ob-gyn. The real-time monitoring prompts early intervention, if needed, especially for those at risk for preeclampsia.
“It sounds simple, but it’s had a huge impact,” said Dr. Martin. “In fact, our goal was to push our postpartum blood pressure follow-up rate to 80%, but it’s nearly 100%. That’s a major step forward in achieving better maternal outcomes.”
Ochsner’s commitment to patients has been tested in extreme circumstances, most notably hurricane Ida in 2021. The Category 4 hurricane struck near Port Fourchon with 150 mile-per-hour winds, which severely damaged St. Anne’s labor and delivery unit 50 miles away.
“We lost our entire unit,” remembered Dr. Reynolds. The team moved operations to another hospital’s clinic 40 minutes away.
Four physicians worked out of the small facility for six weeks, maintaining care thanks to patient loyalty and community bonds.
Today, Ochsner Women’s Health Center in Raceland features a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit, expanded physical therapy services, and regular onsite visits from maternal-fetal medicine and urogynecology specialists.
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Expanding access and education
Ochsner Baptist's dedication to service includes training future physicians and nonphysician providers. Medical students, residents and fellows gain hands-on experience through residency and fellowship programs in a high-acuity, high-support environment. The program includes real-time, scenario-based simulations such as emergency drills, postpartum hemorrhage and maternal cardiac arrest—critical to improving response times and outcomes.
“We run simulations on rare events such as amniotic fluid embolism, which we may only see once every few years on our busy labor unit,” Dr. Martin said. “Evidence proves that simulations, performed regularly and recently, helps teams perform better in emergencies.”
Another factor that drove recognition by The Joint Commission is Ochsner Baptist’s proactive approach to addressing social drivers of health, behavioral issues and equity in care, which are all easily and often overlooked.
“Our most recent effort was to improve the screening process and support systems for mental health conditions such as postpartum depression and peripartum anxiety,” said Dr. Martin.
Additionally, clinics are intentionally located where transportation and access are limited. This allows Ochsner to reach patients who might otherwise go without prenatal support.
“Organizational support has expanded Ochsner’s ability to deliver rural care. Being part of a system is huge,” Dr. Reynolds said. “It provides benefits that patients outside of urban centers would not otherwise have, and that’s why we’ve been so successful.”
As part of its advocacy to improve maternal health, the AMA has outlined concrete actions that should be taken to reduce and prevent rising rates of maternal mortality and serious or near-fatal maternal morbidity in the U.S.
