WATERBURY, Conn. (April 26, 2021) Saint Mary’s Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Spine Surgery Certification. Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance 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 certification recognizes health care organizations that provide clinical programs across the continuum of care for neuro-spine conditions. The certification evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care, as well as to educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge.

Saint Mary’s Hospital underwent a rigorous, virtual review on March 26, 2021. During the visit, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification standards including program management, ongoing commitment to pre and post-operative education, and delivering and facilitating clinical care. Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“Spine Surgery Program Certification recognizes health care organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Saint Mary’s Hospital for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for spine surgery patients.”

“We are extremely pleased to have attained this recognition as a Joint Commission Certified Spine Surgery program,” says Dr. Steven Schneider, president of Saint Mary’s Hospital. “Our Spinal Surgery Management Team has worked diligently to establish this incredible program. They have spent countless hours developing, reviewing and implementing goals and best practices in order to establish a top-quality Spine Surgery Program.”

In preparation for Joint Commission certification, the Spine Surgery Program at Saint Mary’s Hospital established a set of goals in order to standardize care for surgical spine patients based on clinical evidence and best practice. Among them was to provide an ongoing commitment to deliver value-based patient experience. In addition, keeping 100% of patients informed and educated during their pre and post-operative care, performing ongoing evaluation of the spinal program with continuous quality improvement focusing on systems of processes used to improve patient outcomes. Providing the best care possible to surgical spine patients through coordination, communication and education across the continuum using evidence-based methods and performing community outreach sessions with education regarding spine health, and injury prevention in the workplace. Finally, developing educational requirements for nurses, physicians’ assistants, surgeons and physical therapists.

For more information on The Joint Commission, please visit The Joint Commission website. To learn more about Saint Mary’s Hospital Spine Surgery Program visit TrinityHealthOfNE.org.

About Saint Mary’s Hospital

Saint Mary’s Hospital is a Catholic, not-for-profit, acute care, community teaching hospital that has served Greater Waterbury since 1909. In 2016, Saint Mary’s Hospital became part of Trinity Health Of New England, an integrated health care delivery system that is a member of Trinity Health, Livonia, Michigan, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation serving communities in 22 states. Licensed for 347 beds, Saint Mary’s is designated as a Level II Trauma Center, offers award-winning cardiac and stroke care and houses the region’s only pediatric emergency care unit. As the leading provider of surgical services in Greater Waterbury, Saint Mary’s was the first to introduce the daVinci® Robotic Surgery System. The hospital’s satellites and affiliates extend from Waterbury to Wolcott, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Southbury, Prospect and Watertown. Visit stmh.org for more information and follow us on Facebook at SaintMarysHospitalCT, Instagram and Twitter at @SaintMarysCT.