Introduction
Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland, is a 252 bed acute-care facility. The hospital has been open for just over 100 years, and it is a hospital that is noted for its cardiac center, which performs open-heart surgeries and heart catheterizations by the hundreds and thousands each year. Washington Adventist is accredited by four different accrediting agencies, including the Joint Commission, the Society for Cardiovascular Patient Care,, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Radiation Oncology. The hospital is further designated by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Services and Systems, as a stroke center for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, a quality achievement winner from the American Heart Association, and has been named a top performer on Key Quality Measures by the Joint Commission (Adventist Health Care, 2014).
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Key Quality Improvement Elements
The hospital maintains a strategic plan that addresses quality improvement initiatives. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (2014), which is the major accrediting agency for healthcare initiatives, has given Washington Adventist high marks in accrediting protocols, which means that the hospital has been involved in continuous quality improvement initiatives geared toward the safety and quality of care that the public receives from the hospital. Accreditation by the Joint Commission is itself a mark of quality, signaling that the hospital has met certification requirements and has certain outcome measures and other performance measures that indicate that the hospital is a safe and effective provider of healthcare services to the general public.
In terms of key elements of Washington Adventist’s quality improvement plan, the hospital has a number of treatment areas that are accredited by the Joint Commission, and these include patient care services, patient care support, and administrative councils and/or committees that oversee the work done at the hospital. There are planned patient care services, standards of clinical nursing practice, and integration of performance improvement initiatives both within patient care and in administrative support services. There are support services and support departments whose responsibility it is to make sure that patient care is primary and Washington Adventist’s improvement plan centers around the priorities of patient care, including scope of service, professional patient care roles and functions, and staffing plans and scope of care plans under which all staff of the hospital operate (Washington Adventist Hospital, 2013).
Joint Commission Standards
Washington Adventist operates under Joint Commission standards of care, protocols, and pathways. The hospital operates under further standards of care as well, including the Society for Critical Care Medicine, the American Hospital Association, and best practice benchmarking. The hospital, as well, operates under Medicare guidelines and Medicare standards of care. The hospital’s oncology unit and cardiac care unit both follow the strict guidelines of the Joint Commission’s accrediting protocols, and meet the Joint Commission’s standards for quality management. Meeting Joint Commission standards for quality care and quality management is the goal of Washington Adventist, and the 2014 National Patient Safety Goals (2014) specify what improvements are to be made in patient safety and care, and with regard to Washington Adventist’s strategic plan that pertains to quality improvement.
Conclusion
Quality improvement is an ongoing standard of excellence that requires diligence, hard work, and the vision for patient care that is patient-oriented and geared to successful health outcomes for the patients who use Washington Adventist’s services. The Joint Commission pieces are in place, and are spelled out specifically so that there is no confusion about what is expected, and what must be done to protect the health of those who use Washington Adventist’s services. It is an ongoing effort to provide appropriate healthcare in a hospital setting, in line with Washington Adventist’s mission as a healthcare entity.
- Adventist Health Care. (2014). Accreditations and designations. Retrieved from http://www.adventisthealthcare.com/
- The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2014). Hospital national patient safety goals. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org
- The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2014). What is accreditation? Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/
- Washington Adventist Hospital. (2013). Plan for delivery of care. Retrieved from http://mhcc.dhmh.maryland.gov
