Bay Area Hospital strives to maintain The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation process signifies Bay Area Hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s more than 1,500 state-of-the-art standards.
Bay Area Hospital underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey on April 23-25. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated Bay Area Hospital for three days to ensure compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, medication management, patient rights, provision of safe environment of care and leadership.
The survey team included a physician and a nurse surveyor who spent three days reviewing patient care. The surveyors followed the care of individual patients as they come into the hospital, interviewed patients, observed hospital protocols, reviewed medical documentation and were free to ask the entire staff about procedures and patient care. A life safety surveyor also reviewed the emergency and disaster preparedness and building safety. In addition a home health surveyor spent two days surveying the home health care services affiliated with the hospital.
“In maintaining Joint Commission accreditation, Bay Area Hospital demonstrates its commitment to the highest level of care for its patients,” says the executive director of the Hospital Programs, Accreditation and Certification Services, The Joint Commission. “Accreditation is a voluntary process and the director commends Bay Area Hospital for undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”
“With Joint Commission accreditation, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. Joint Commission accreditation provides us a framework to take our organization to the next level and helps create a culture of excellence” says Paul Janke, Bay Area Hospital’s CEO. Bay Area Hospital has been accredited since it opened in 1974 and is surveyed by the Joint Commission every three years. “Achieving ongoing Joint Commission accreditation for our organization is important in maintaining excellence and continuous improvement in the care we provide.”
The hospital’s Quality Performance Improvement Specialist Linda Dufner (RN) explained that it’s an ongoing team effort to make sure the hospital is continually ready for a Joint Commission Review: “One person or one division cannot do it alone. This is an organization-wide effort and everyone from the hospital’s leadership team to medical staff and line staff plays a significant role ensuring that we meet the Joint Commission’s standards and provide safe quality care to each and every patient.”
Janke added, “We really got the best feedback possible on all of our quality and safety initiatives. In fact, The Joint Commission has asked Bay Area Hospital to share some of the procedures we’ve developed with their “leading practices” library so that other hospitals and communities can benefit from our leadership in providing quality care.”
The Joint Commission’s hospital standards address important functions relating to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts and patients.
Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,600 hospitals and home care organizations and more than 6,600 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. To learn more about The Joint Commission go to www.jointcommission.org
Bay Area Hospital is the largest acute care center on the Oregon Coast and offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. Bay Area Hospital’s inpatient and outpatient services include medical, surgical, behavioral health, pediatric, critical care, home health, oncology, obstetrical and other specialties. Bay Area Hospital is the only Joint Commission accredited hospital on the Southern Oregon Coast. Learn more at www.bayareahospital.org
