Maimonides has several advantages over nearby hospitals, and not just because its local community is somewhat healthier. It delivers more babies than any other hospital in New York State, about 8,500 annually. With that many births, the staff gets a lot of practice on emergencies, even without being a referral center for high-risk patients. The high volume also justifies keeping on staff a number of specialists who would be too costly for smaller places to employ for relatively infrequent use.

Severe hemorrhage is one of several complications that many hospitals in New York have been trying to reduce. Most are participating in a “Safe Motherhood Initiative,” sponsored by the state chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But some hospitals have more resources than others, whether it’s technology like the $3,500 Noelle dummy the Maimonides team uses for drills or available staff to cover labor and delivery while others are in the simulation lab.