BMC Orthopaedics Honored for Excellence in Joint Replacement

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Medical Center has achieved Joint Commission Disease Specific Certification for Hip & Knee Replacement, following an intensive survey earlier this year. As a result, BMC has been recognized as a Center of Excellence for Hip & Knee Replacement, demonstrating a commitment to continuously improving the care of hip- and knee-replacement patients.

BMC is only one of two hospitals in Massachusetts and the only hospital in Western Mass. to have earned the Joint Commission Center of Excellence designation for hip- and knee-replacement procedures.

“Berkshire Health Systems is committed to ensuring that the residents of Berkshire County have access to the highest level of care for the services we provide,” said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. “This Center of Excellence designation from the Joint Commission is an objective validation of the commitment that Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates and the staff at BMC have to provide nothing but the best care to our community.”

Added Mickey Haryanto, Orthopaedic Program service line manager for BMC, “the Joint Commission program certifies each procedure separately, and therefore we received two certifications resulting from this survey, one for hip replacement and one for knee replacement. The review was in-depth and included the areas of clinical practice, data, performance improvement, patient self-management of disease process, and program management.”

For BMC’s hip- and knee-replacement patients, the certification means that “they can rely on receiving the highest-quality care demonstrated to meet Joint Commission’s rigorous standards for Joint Replacement Programs,” according to the Joint Commission. The review determined that BMC “follows evidence-based care which is supported by standardized treatment, clinical practice guidelines, and best practices.”

In addition to The Joint Commission designation, the BMC Joint Replacement Program has also been honored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as a Blue Distinction Center + for Hip and Knee Replacement. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield, “Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement demonstrate an expertise in quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for patients, by meeting objective clinical measures developed with input from expert physicians and medical organizations.”