Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Awarded Advanced Certification for Palliative Care from the Joint Commission
FAIRFAX, VA (May 30, 2013) – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for its Palliative Care Program by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in palliative care. The certification award recognizes Inova Fair Oaks Hospital’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the- art standards.
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital underwent a rigorous on-site review in May 2013. The Joint Commission review evaluated the hospital for compliance with The Joint Commission’s palliative care-specific standards, clinical practice guidelines and performance measures. The Advanced Certification for Palliative Care standards focus on patient and family-centered care in order to optimize the quality of life for patients with serious illness.
“In achieving Joint Commission advanced certification, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of care for patients with serious illness,” says Michele Sacco, M.S., executive director, Advanced Certification for Palliative Care, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and I commend Inova Fair Oaks Hospital for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”
“With Joint Commission advanced certification, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. Joint Commission certification provides us a framework to take our organization to the next level and helps create a culture of excellence,” said John Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer of Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. “Achieving Joint Commission advanced certification for palliative care is a major step toward maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide.”
Launched in 2011, The Joint Commission’s palliative care certification standards are built on The National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and the National Quality Forum’s National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Quality Care. Palliative care addresses a patient’s, physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs and facilitates patient autonomy, access to information and choice.
To learn more about Inova Fair Oaks Hospital’s Palliative Care Program, call 703-391-4841 or visit www.inova.org/ifoh.
Media Contact: Amy Richards, 703-391-3390
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 evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,600 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,600 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also certifies more than 2,400 disease-specific care programs such as stroke, heart failure, joint replacement and stroke rehabilitation, and 400 health care staffing services. 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.
About Inova
Inova is a not-for-profit health care system located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, serving over two million people with over 1,700 licensed beds based in Northern Virginia. Inova consists of five hospitals including the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care unit. Inova encompasses many health services including the nationally and internationally recognized Inova Heart and Vascular Institute (IHVI), Inova Translational Medicine Institute (ITMI) on genomics, Inova Neuroscience Institute and Inova Children’s Hospital. Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. More information about Inova is at www.inova.org.
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