Southampton, NY—Southampton Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for its palliative care program by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for healthcare quality and safety in palliative care. The certification award recognizes the Hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.
The Hospital underwent a rigorous on-site review on July 30, and was evaluated for compliance with The Joint Commission’s palliative care-specific standards, clinical practice guidelines and performance measures. Palliative care addresses a patient’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs and facilitates patient autonomy, access to information and choice. The Advanced Certification standards focus on patient and family-centered care in order to optimize the quality of life for patients with serious illness.
"In achieving Joint Commission’s advanced certification, Southampton Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of care for patients with serious illness,” says Michele Sacco, MS, executive director, Advanced Certification for Palliative Care, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and I commend Southampton Hospital for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”
"With Joint Commission advanced certification, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. Joint Commission certification provides a framework for us to take our organization to the next level and helps create a culture of excellence,” says Robert Chaloner, Hospital President & CEO. “Achieving Joint Commission advanced certification for palliative care is a major step toward maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide.”
Certification is available only to Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and provides the framework for a formal, organized palliative care program led by:
- An interdisciplinary team whose members possess the requisite expertise in palliative care
- Leadership endorsement and support of the program’s goals for providing care, treatment and services
- A special focus on patient and family engagement
- Processes that support the coordination of care and communication among all care settings and providers
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, 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. The Joint Commission also certifies more than 2,400 disease-specific care programs such as stroke, heart failure, joint replacement and stroke rehabilitation, and 400 health care staffing 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. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.