As Twin Lakes Regional
Medical Center entered the 21st century, it was recognized
by the Kentucky health care community as one of the state’s leading rura
l
hospitals.
In June 1998, the hospital gained national recognition when it received what was then the Joint Commission's highest honor, "Accreditation with Commendation." At that time, Twin Lakes Regional was one of only 16 hospitals in the state of Kentucky to hold that distinction.
The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits nearly 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including approximately 9,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and 8,000 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery networks, and other managed care entities. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Since 1951, the Joint Commission has developed state-of-the-art, professionally based standards and evaluated the compliance of health care organizations against these benchmarks.
Accreditation by the Joint Commission is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that indicates that an organization meets certain performance standards. To earn and maintain accreditation, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years. Laboratories must be surveyed every two years.
In additional surveys since 1998, the hospital and its laboratory and home health services have been successful in maintaining accreditation. The most recent survey was in May 2007.
The Joint Commission’s standards address the organization’s level of performance in key functional areas, such as patient rights, and the standards focus not simply on what the organization has, but what it actually does. Standards set forth performance expectations for activities that affect the quality of patient care -- if an organization does the right things and does them well, there is a strong likelihood that its patients will experience good outcomes. The Joint Commission develops its standards in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts, purchasers and consumers.
For more information on the Joint Commission, or Twin Lakes Regional's performance report, visit their official website at www.jointcommission.org.
Other Joint Commission links:
Quality Check®: Quality Check® is a search engine used to locate Joint Commission accredited healthcare organizations. This accreditation and comparison information can be used to determine whether a healthcare organization will meet your needs.
Report a Complaint: Do you have a complaint about the quality of care at a Joint Commission-accredited health care organization? The Joint Commission wants to know about it. If you have questions about how to file a complaint, you may contact the Joint Commission toll free at 1.800.994.6610, 8:30 to 5 p.m., Central Time, weekdays.