Elkin, NC – June 8, 2021 – Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Total Joint Accreditation 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.
Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review in early February. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Total Joint standards spanning several areas including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” said Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”
Mary Blackburn, Chief Clinical Officer and Vice President of Care Innovation, noted “Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital continuously seeks ways to validate an unrelenting focus on achieving the highest quality in patient care outcomes. Seeking and achieving Advanced Hip and Knee Total Joint Replacement Certification from The Joint Commission confirms that we have met the highest national standards for safety and quality of care for these patients. Patients who have a total joint replacement at Hugh Chatham have an entire multidisciplinary team focused on ensuring that their care is exceptional from their first office visit through returning to their normal activities after surgery.”
Dr. Jonathan Snyder, Chief Medical Officer continued this thought adding, “Being recognized as an Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement Program is external validation of Hugh Chatham and Tri-County Orthopedic’s commitment to exceptional patient care and world class outcomes. The Joint Commission offers this certification in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR). This is the premier certification for total joint replacement programs in the US and represents the next step in our goal of providing the highest quality care for our patients and their families.”
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Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital (www.hughchatham.org) is a not-for-profit community health care network of physician clinics and an 81-bed acute care hospital that delivers high quality, convenient health care to residents of the Yadkin Valley and Foothills region of North Carolina and parts of southwestern Virginia. Employing more than 800 team members, Hugh Chatham includes a medical group of more than 50 providers across 27 locations and six counties. Headquartered in Elkin, North Carolina, Hugh Chatham is a leader in using technology to coordinate care for patients and to make healthcare more accessible, and cost-effective.
