Applicable to disease-specific care programs
Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn.; Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.; Mt. Sinai Medical Center, N.Y.; St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Pontiac, Mich.; and The Connecticut Hospice, Inc. in Branford, Conn., have become the first hospitals across the country to receive Advanced Certification for Palliative Care from The Joint Commission. Palliative care is the field of medicine designed to improve the quality of life for patients and their families by relieving the pain, symptoms and stress of a serious illness. It provides a treatment model for patients of all ages at all stages of serious or advanced illness that is not dependent on prognosis. The Joint Commission certification program was developed under the guidance of a national task force of experts on palliative care. The Joint Commission Advanced Palliative Care Certification standards emphasize:
- A formal, organized palliative care program led by an interdisciplinary team whose members possess the requisite expertise in palliative care.
- Leadership endorsement and support of the program’s goals for providing care, treatment and services.
- A special focus on patient and family engagement.
- Processes which support the coordination of care and communication among all care settings and providers.
- The use of evidence-based national guidelines or expert consensus to guide patient care.
Read the entire news release. (Contact: Michele Sacco, msacco@jointcommission.org or dscinfo@jointcommission.org)