Saint Mary's Hospital awarded Spine Surgery Program Re-Certification from the Joint Commission

WATERBURY, Conn. - Saint Mary’s Hospital has earned recertification for The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Spine Surgery 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.

“We are extremely pleased to have attained recertification as a Joint Commission Certified Spine Surgery program,” says Husnain Kermalli, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Saint Mary’s Hospital. “Our Spinal Surgery Management Team has spent countless hours ensuring that best practices are continually reviewed and polished in order to maintain our top-quality Spine Surgery Program.”

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 and educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge.

“We care about quality, and we care about patient experiences,” said David Forshaw, M.D., section chief of Neurosurgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital. “Choosing to undergo a Joint Commission review illustrates our commitment to the Gold Seal standard we have already achieved, and re-certification demonstrates our continued work to improve our processes wherever possible.”

Saint Mary’s Hospital underwent a rigorous, in-person review in February. 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.”

In preparation for Joint Commission re-certification, the Spine Surgery Program at Saint Mary’s Hospital reviewed its set of goals that standardize care for surgical spine patients based on clinical evidence and best practice. Among them is 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 https://www.trinityhealthofne.org/smh-spine.