CDH Awarded Accreditation from Joint Commission

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) by demonstrating compliance with its national standards for health care quality and safety.

“The entire hospital should be very proud. We did exceedingly well,” said Craig N. Melin, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson. “We have set a goal of becoming a national model for how patient care is delivered at our nation’s community hospitals. This accomplishment advances us toward becoming a model community hospital based on quality of care.”

Donna Truesdell, director of Quality Improvement, said the on-site review was extremely thorough and demonstrates the hospital’s continuous commitment to meeting rigorous national standards.

The results are “validation of the collaborative efforts between physicians and staff to continuously comply with — and exceed — national standards,” she said.
For example, she cited CDH’s compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals, a Joint Commission initiative to help accredited organizations prevent specific medical errors.

In addition, Cooley Dickinson complies with various regulatory agencies, including JCAHO, that require hospitals to report clinical quality improvement data in areas such as congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia.

Also, CDH voluntarily reports clinical quality improvement data to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Patients First in the areas of stroke care, patient falls, pressure ulcer incidence, and surgical care.