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09/09/2022
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital Accreditation 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.
Wentworth-Douglass underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review June 21- June 24, 2022. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Hospital Program standards spanning several areas, including environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.
The accreditation is valid for 36 months.
“This accreditation is crucial in ensuring our high standards of quality, safety, and compassionate care continue to be recognized as among the finest on the Seacoast,” says Jeff Hughes, President & CEO of Wentworth-Douglass. “As a healthcare organization, we are proud of this affirmation of what we do each and every day to provide high quality care to our patients and the community.”
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 onsite observations and interviews.
Hughes said that surveyors had no findings in their “high risk” category. In addition, there were also no concerns deemed “widespread,” which the surveyor called “remarkable.”
“The surveyors were also very complimentary of our staff’s engagement with them and our eagerness to learn. A surveyor noted it was evident to their team that WDH’s compassion has a significant, positive impact on patient care and experience,” Hughes said.
Surveyors were also impressed with the beauty and cleanliness of hospital facilities – the main hospital campus and all offsite locations, Hughes added.
“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, R.N., MS, Chief Operating Officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Wentworth-Douglass for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”
For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.