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ARH earns agency’s gold seal
Published Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has reaffirmed Andalusia Regional Hospital’s accreditation with its gold seal of approval, the Commission’s strongest designation.
The Joint Commission has accredited hospitals for more than 50 years and currently accredits approximately 88 percent of the nation’s hospitals, according to its web site. The commission sets and measures standards for health care quality and safety. To earn and maintain accreditation, a hospital must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team. Joint Commission surveys are unannounced and occur 18 to 39 months after the previous unannounced survey.
Andalusia Regional Hospital CEO Mark Dooley said local staff members were expecting an accreditation team in the early fall, but the facility wasn’t surveyed until December of 2008.
“Every day, we expected them to show up,” he said.
But the results were worth the wait.
The survey process evaluates actual care processes by tracing patients through the care, treatment and services they received. It also analyzes key operational systems that directly impact the quality and safety of patient care.
The Joint Commission has several levels of accreditation, Dooley said, adding that ARH received the highest level.
Chief Nursing Officer Melissa Davis said the accreditation is “proof of an organization-wide commitment to provide quality care on an ongoing basis,” and said she is proud to work with staff members who are concerned about what needs to be done for accreditation.
Andalusia Regional Hospital is a 100-bed facility that serves the residents of southern Alabama. According to the Joint Commission’s web site, the nearest Joint Commission-accredited hospitals are D.W. McMillan in Brewton; North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview; Beacon’s Children’s Hospital in Luverne; and L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital in Greenville. The accreditation process is voluntary.
Andalusia Regional Hospital was among the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Hospitals in the nation for 2005 and 2007.
“Above all, the national standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization’s performance and the outcomes of care,” said Mark Pelletier, R.N., M.S., executive director, Hospital Programs, Accreditation and Certification Services, The Joint Commission. “The community should be proud that Andalusia Regional Hospital is focusing on the most challenging goal – to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels.”
Comments
Posted by LoyalAmerican (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 7:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations for the "Gold Seal" recognition and partnering with Andrews Institute. I am relieved to learn a commission finds services and organizational procedures outstanding within the walls of Andalusia Regional Hospital. Now what will be a tremendous plus, is if ARH can get those same findings to be a consistent part of the patients day. Until then, our family will continue to pass ARH on our way to Opp, Enterprise or Dothan. Actually we will go scores of miles in any direction to avoid ARH due to past issues regarding quality of care. However, I do understand that a large portion of our complaints are shouldered by attending physicians. Their demands and actions, and mannerisms set the standards within the hospital and the nursing staff must do what they are directed to do, even if they question silently. Perhaps the new partnering and accreditation milestones will attract more highly qualified doctors, interested in patient care.
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LoyalAmerican... Hey now thats funny! When I hear people talk about the hospital in Opp, they usually say if I had a problem I would rather go to ARH. Now I have also been told by people that live in Andalusia they would rather go to Opp than ARH.
Posted by jujaphillips (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ANDALUSIA IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT HOSPITAL RIGHT IN TOWN. I HAVE FOUND THE MEDICAL STAFF TO VERY PROFICIENT IN ALL THEY DO AND THE NURSING STAFF TO VERY COMPASSIONATE WHEN THE NEED AROSE. I'M GLAD TO CALL ANDALUSIA, MY HOMETOWN WITH THE GREAT ASSESTS IT HAS TO OFFER. IT WOULD SEEM THAT IN A TIME OF ECONOMIC DEPRESSION WE WOULD WANT TO SUPPROT OUR LOCAL FOLKS, WHATEVER THE SERVICE PROVIDED. Judy Wheeler Phillips (now I live in Madison, Florida.
Posted by RTR (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ARH has many dedicated doctors, nurses and other staff who strive daily to provide quality care for our community. Keep up the good work!
Posted by BamaRose61 (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 7:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My husband has had back surgery at Flowers in Dothan and at ARH. He liked the care he had at ARH better than the care he received at Flowers. The main problem at ARH is they are short staffed most of the time.
Posted by RTR (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 9:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ARH has many physicians, nurses and staff dedicated to providing quality patient care. Keep up the good work!
Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on June 5, 2009 at 11:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My mother was a patient in ARH in March 2007. The place was filthy. After two days, I cleaned her bathroom after asking a staff member to remove the bedpan smeared with feces. It was evident the bathroom had not been cleaned in several days. Even the elevator floor was dirty. For the entire week I was with my mother, there was a large sticky spot on the elevator floor. I can only hope it wasn't body fluids. My husband is a safety professional and at one time worked in hospital safety. One of his areas of expertise was working with hospitals to prepare for JCAHO visits. After seeing the deplorable conditions he could not understand how ARH got such high level of accreditation.
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