Queen of the Valley Awarded Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification from The Joint Commission

Queen of the Valley Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® for Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

“We are proud of our caregivers who made this recognition possible,” said Larry Coomes, chief executive officer at Queen of the Valley. “The designation is a reflection to all the individuals who are part of our orthopedics team and deliver safe, compassionate care to patients to ensure exceptional outcomes.”

The certification recognizes health care organizations that provide clinical programs across the continuum of care for hip and knee replacement—including pre-surgical consultation to the intraoperative, hospitalization, rehabilitation activities and follow up with an orthopedic surgeon. The certification evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care, as well as to educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge.

Queen of the Valley Medical Center underwent a rigorous, onsite review on Friday, February 28. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards including: program management, delivering clinical care, supporting self-management, clinical information management, and performance measurement.

Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

The Queen’s orthopedics program has been recognized by other organizations over the past year, including:

• Blue Shield of California, which named the hospital a Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee and Hip Replacement, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
• US News & World Report, which listed Queen of the Valley’s knee replacements as “High Performing”.

“Core Certification for Total Hip and Knee Replacement programs recognizes health care organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Queen of the Valley Medical Center for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for orthopedic patients.”

For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.