Stroke Program also recognized for going “above and “beyond” in patient care
January 2, 2012
Martha Jefferson Hospital was recently accredited for the first time by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare accreditor. Martha Jefferson researched DNV for several years. Then, after joining Sentara Healthcare, representatives from each of the ten hospitals in the system decided to pursue accreditation because DNV shares the Sentara belief that medical accreditation is not just an inspection process, but should be a catalyst for quality and patient safety.
“DNV brings a new approach to the accreditation process that will hold our hospital accountable and also steer us to innovative best practices resulting in even better patient care,” said Susan Cabell Mains, Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance.
In addition to the hospital certification, DNV also accredited Martha Jefferson’s Stroke program.
“DNV reviewers felt that our stroke care ‘went above and beyond’ standard expectations,” commented Dr. Alexander Grunsfeld, Martha Jefferson Director of Stoke and NeuroCritical Care said. “Achieving DNV accreditation for our stroke care involved a very thorough process. Our success required a multidisciplinary effort and a true spirit of teamwork.”
DNV accreditation addresses the demands of quality-driven hospitals that are dedicated to patient-centered care. In order to maintain accreditation, hospitals go through an un-announced survey once each year. While on site, DNV surveyors trace the care of patients as they visit various departments in the hospital as a way to study the processes of care across the organization.
“While on-site, the surveyors observe the care and services being provided, conduct interviews with patients, family and staff members and also do a medical record review,” said Mains. “They have a thorough process which ensures everything is looked at and no stones are left un-turned.”
DNV’s accreditation process is based on the National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO) standards, approved for use in hospitals in the United States in 2008. In turn, the NIAHO uses the ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard which is a common standard adopted across a range of industries to recognize quality products and services provided to consumers. The system centers around “improving upon what you do, not just meeting a set of standards.”
