Mercy Health – West Hospital has once again earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for both hip and knee joint replacements. Organizations earn hip and knee joint replacement certifications by demonstrating continuous compliance with the commission’s 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. 

“I congratulate the nurses, doctors and associates of Mercy Health – West Hospital, who successfully underwent a rigorous onsite review to earn these recertifications,” said Michael Kramer, West Hospital President. “Our dedication to quality does not waver and it’s that continual focus on providing the best possible patient care that makes an accolade like this possible.” 

During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers conducted interviews and observations to evaluate compliance with related certification standards. These Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. 

The certifications, offered in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, focuses on the pre-surgical orthopedic consultation to the intraoperative, hospitalization or ambulatory surgical center admission, rehabilitation activities, and follow-up visit with the orthopedic surgeon. 

“Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certifications recognize 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 Mercy Health for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for orthopedic patients.” 

For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.