Samaritan Medical Center Awarded Re-Accreditation from The Joint Commission
Published on: November 12, 2021
Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals by demonstrating continuous compliance with its patient safety standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
The Samaritan Medical Center and clinics underwent a rigorous, unannounced on-site review from June 15 through June 18, 2021. During the visit, the team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated compliance with all 18 chapters of the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. These include multiple standards and elements of performance. Some of these chapters include emergency management, information management, infection prevention and control, provision of care, treatment and services, medication management, life safety, and environment of care.
Additionally, our organization met all standards related to sterile medication compounding, high-level disinfection, and dialysis care, which were high focus areas for The Joint Commission.
“We’re very proud to have achieved re-accreditation from The Joint Commission – a voluntary, rigorous process that ensures our facility measures up to the highest standards in quality and patient care,” said Mario Victoria, M.D, chief medical officer at Samaritan Medical Center. “We’re especially grateful to our dedicated staff. This last year-and-a-half has strained health care systems across the U.S. more than ever. Despite facing unprecedented challenges, our staff and leadership team have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to our patients and delivering the best care possible.”
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess, and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted on-site observations and interviews.
“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,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Samaritan Medical Center for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”
An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. For more information, visit www.jointcommission.org.