CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center announced on May 9 it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards.
The gold seal reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
The hospital underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite survey last december, when a team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated compliance with hospital standards related to several areas, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, and medication management. Surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
The Joint Commission has accredited hospitals for more than 60 years, and awards accreditation for a three-year period.
“We are very pleased to receive accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” said Kris Doody, RN, Cary CEO. “Staff from across the organization continue to work together to develop and implement approaches that have the potential to improve care for the patients in the communities we serve.”
In addition to multiple hospital programs and services, the commission also reviews activity of the hospital’s board of directors and medical staff. Dr. Regen Gallagher, chief medical officer at Cary, said that the quality of the hospital’s medical staff and their adherence to various national standards was evident by the results of the survey.
“The Joint Commission does a very serious review of our medical staff and their approach to national safety standards, and numerous other patient care issues,” said Gallagher, who is second in command at Cary. “Our medical staff, like our entire organization, considers quality and patient safety our most important mission and we applaud their work resulting in this full three year accreditation.”
“Joint Commission accreditation provides hospitals with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas from the enhancement of staff education to the improvement of daily business operations,” said Mark G. Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission. “In addition, our accreditation helps hospitals enhance their risk management and risk reduction strategies. We commend Cary Medical Center for its efforts to become a quality improvement organization.”
The Joint Commission’s hospital standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The standards are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help hospitals measure, assess and improve performance.
Submitted by the Community Relations and Development Office of Cary Medical Center.
