Phelps Memorial Hospital Reaccredited by Joint Commission

November 2007

PHELPS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL REACCREDITED BY JOINT COMMISSION

Phelps Memorial Hospital has been formally reaccredited by The Joint Commission, the national hospital accrediting agency.

The Joint Commission's team paid an unannounced visit to Phelps in November 2007, and conducted a top-to-bottom survey of the hospital that lasted four days. They found only five requirements for improvement, all related to documentation issues and none having to do with actual patient care. The average number of improvement requirements found at hospitals surveyed in 2007 was 8.5, so Phelps scored significantly better than the national norm. Corrective actions to deal with the five areas requiring improvement found at Phelps have been developed and the hospital will submit a follow-up report to The Joint Commission.

There were no deficiencies found in life safety or in the hospital's physical plant, maintenance, emergency management or safety programs. These areas are often cited during surveys of other hospitals.

In announcing the reaccreditation, Lawrence L. Faltz, MD, FACP, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer said, "These outstanding results are totally due to the tireless staff at Phelps, who took the surprise survey in stride and demonstrated to the surveyors the outstanding level of care they deliver to patients every day."

The unannounced surveys are designed to reveal whether a hospital's regular mode of operation complies with the high national standards set by The Joint Commission. "Phelps has shown once again that the condition of our physical plant and the excellence of our patient care places us among the top community hospitals in the country," said Keith Safian, President and CEO at Phelps.

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