Passavant Area Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is the symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

Passavant underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review this past April. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated compliance with hospital standards, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, medication management and leadership. The surveyors also conducted onsite interviews and observations.

The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The standards help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance.

“While onsite at Passavant, surveyors were extremely complimentary of the facility,” said Christina Rollins, MBA, MS, RDN, FAND, affiliate vice president, Operations, Quality and Safety. “We spent much of the three-day visit discussing best practices in healthcare and how Passavant is leading the way in creating a safe patient environment.”

The surveyors visited many areas of the hospital, including traveling offsite to the Rehabilitation Clinic in Beardstown. The surveyors reviewed clinical documentation, policies and procedures, while also conducting a very detailed physical inspection of the hospital.

“Maintaining our facility is a team effort,” said Rollins. “Receiving external validation that we are meeting all standards is very rewarding.”

Scott Boston, MD, president and CEO of Passavant, added, “Earning accreditation from The Joint Commission inspires us to continue to excel in providing safe, high-quality patient care. It also encourages us to continually improve our processes.”

“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” said Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Passavant for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”

For more information, visit The Joint Commission website.