St. Charles Hospice awarded home care accreditation

St. Charles Hospice announced Friday it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval ® for Home Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards.

The Gold Seal of Approval ® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective care.

St. Charles Hospice — which serves communities throughout Central Oregon — underwent a rigorous three-day survey last August. During the survey, compliance with home care standards reflecting key organization areas was evaluated, including the provision of care, treatment and services, emergency management, human resources, individual rights and responsibilities, and leadership.

The accreditation process also provided St. Charles Hospice with education and guidance to help staff continue to improve its home care program’s performance.

Established in 1988, The Joint Commission’s Home Care Accreditation Program supports the efforts of its accredited organizations to help deliver safe, high quality care and services. More than 6,000 home care programs currently maintain accreditation, awarded for a three-year period, from The Joint Commission.

“When individuals engage a home care provider they want to be sure that provider is capable of providing safe, quality care,” said Margherita Labson, RN, MS, executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “As the home care setting becomes increasingly popular, it is important that home care providers are able to demonstrate that they are capable of providing safe, high quality care.

“Accreditation by The Joint Commission serves as an indication that the organization has demonstrated compliance to these recognized standards of safe and quality care.”

“St. Charles Hospice is pleased to receive accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” said Sharon Strohecker, St. Charles’ director of hospice. “Staff from across our organization continue to work together to strengthen the continuum of care, and to deliver and maintain excellent hospice care with a focus on safety and process improvement.”

The Joint Commission’s home care standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, home care providers and researchers, as well as industry experts, purchasers and consumers. The standards are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help organizations measure, assess and improve performance.