ssm jogoSSM Health St. Francis Hospital announced recently it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Laboratory Services 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 patient care.

St. Francis underwent a rigorous unannounced onsite survey on June 2 and 3. During the review, a joint commission expert surveyor evaluated compliance with laboratory standards related to several areas, including document and process control, healthcare-associated conditions, risk reduction and staff qualifications and competency. The surveyor also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“Joint Commission accreditation is a voluntary process and provides laboratories with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas from specimen collection to result reporting,” said Stacy Olea, MT(ASCP), FACHE, executive director, Laboratory Services Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “We commend SSM Health St. Francis for its efforts to have laboratory services contribute and support the overall healthcare delivery system.”

“St. Francis is pleased to receive accreditation from the Joint Commission, the premier healthcare quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” Barbara Munier, laboratory director, said. “Pathologists and other laboratory staff continue to work together to develop and implement approaches and strategies to improve care for the patients in our community.”

The commission has accredited hospital laboratory services since 1979 and freestanding laboratories since 1995. More than 1,500 organizations, including laboratories in hospitals, reference labs, blood transfusion and donor centers, public health laboratories and point-of-care test sites, currently maintain Laboratory Services Accreditation from commission, awarded for a two-year cycle.

“In achieving Joint Commission accreditation, our laboratory has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of care for our patients,” Mike Baumgartner, hospital president, said.