Hospital re-earns The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Diabetes Inpatient Care
McLaren Port Huron has re-earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Diabetes Inpatient Care by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in disease-specific care. The certification award recognizes the hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards. McLaren Port Huron first earned this bi-annual certification in 2012.
Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards, effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities. The survey is a voluntary process designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. McLaren Port Huron is one of two hospitals in the state of Michigan and one of only 78 in the country to have earned this disease-specific certification.
Poor glucose management shows a direct correlation to increased complications, lengths of stay, readmissions and mortality. According to McLaren Port Huron patient data in 2013, 35 percent of all admitted patients had a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes. The inpatient program, developed in 2010, was a strategic objective for performance improvement. It was designed to meet high volume and high risk conditions in the Port Huron community using a multidisciplinary approach to facilitate diabetic care between the inpatient and outpatient settings.
"With diabetes at epidemic levels nationwide and here in St. Clair County, achieving The Joint Commission certification for our diabetes program is a major step toward maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide,” says Jennifer Montgomery, McLaren Port Huron president and CEO. “The Joint Commission certification confirms that we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis throughout the organization.”
Outpatient diabetes programs include group and individual education classes; support groups for adults; partnering with community organizations, such as the YMCA on diabetes and pre-diabetes programs; and working with the Port Huron area schools and school nurses.
About the Joint Commission
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’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities.