McLeod Dillon Laboratory Awarded Accreditation from The Joint Commission

McLEOD DILLION 21 NOVEMBER 2012

(11/21/12) – McLeod Medical Center Dillon has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in laboratories. The accreditation award recognizes McLeod Dillon’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.

McLeod Dillon underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey in August, 2012. A Joint Commission expert surveyor evaluated McLeod Dillon for compliance with standards of care that directly affect the quality and safety of diagnostic services and patient care.

"We continually seek to raise our standards of commitment to patient safety and quality care. This survey serves as a tool that we can use to validate the practices that we do well and to learn of systems and processes that other organizations have in place that might enhance work here," said Madge Hamer, Director of Laboratory Services for McLeod Dillon.

"In achieving Joint Commission accreditation, McLeod Dillon has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of care for its patients," says Jennifer Rhamy, M.B.A., M.A., M.T. (ASCP) SBB, HP, Executive Director, Laboratory Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “Accreditation is a voluntary process and I commend McLeod Dillon for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”

The Joint Commission’s laboratory standards emphasize the results a laboratory should achieve instead of emphasizing the technical methods of performing testing, and were developed with input from professional laboratory organizations. Joint Commission standards address processes that follow laboratory specimens from the doctor’s order into the laboratory from specimen collection then back to the patient through result reporting, focusing on the provision of high quality, safe laboratory services integrated with patient care. These standards highlight the essential nature of laboratory services on the actual care and service delivery processes that contribute to and support the overall health care delivery system.

"With Joint Commission accreditation, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis," said Debbie Locklair, Administrator at McLeod Dillon. "Joint Commission accreditation is evidence of an organization-wide commitment to provide quality care on an ongoing basis."

About The Joint Commission
The Joint Commission has been evaluating and accrediting laboratory services since 1979. Today, The Joint Commission accredits almost 2,000 organizations providing laboratory services. This represents almost 3,000 Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment certificate laboratories, including independent reference labs and in vitro fertilization labs, and those connected with other health care organizations such as hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and long-term care facilities.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others.  The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.