Covenant Medical Center’s (CMC) Palliative Medicine unit has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Palliative Care Certification. The certification demonstrates Covenant Health’s focus on achieving optimum care for patients with serious illnesses. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
CMC’s Palliative Medicine unit underwent a rigorous onsite review during the summer. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with national palliative care standards 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.
“Covenant is pleased to receive certification from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” said Dr. Jeremy Brown, medical director for the unit. “The certification recognizes hospital inpatient programs and helps to further promote and advance the field of palliative care, ultimately improving the care for persons living with serious illnesses.”
Established in 2011, The Joint Commission’s Palliative Care Certification is awarded for a two-year period and recognizes organizations that demonstrate exceptional patient and family-centered care in order to optimize the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.
“Covenant Medical Center has demonstrated its commitment to serve patients diagnosed with a critical and debilitating illness in a safe, high quality and patient-focused environment,” said Wendi Roberts, executive director, Disease-Specific Care and Health Care Staffing Services Certification, The Joint Commission. “We recognize and commend Covenant Health for its efforts to provide palliative care services while emphasizing patients’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs as they make end-of-life decisions.”
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 accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit 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 Covenant Health:
Covenant Health has served for almost 100 years as the only faith-based integrated health network in the West Texas, eastern New Mexico region providing a Christian healing ministry. Covenant’s network includes six hospitals, more than 1,000 licensed beds, more than 5,000 employees, 97 primary care providers, a medical staff of more than 600 physicians at its cornerstone facilities, and a regionally based health plan – FirstCare — offering high-quality affordable healthcare coverage. To learn more about Covenant Health, please visit covenanthealth.org.
(News release from Covenant Health)
