Aspirus™ Ontonagon Hospital

ONTONAGON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

AWARDED ACCREDITATION

FROM THE JOINT COMMISSION

Ontonagon Memorial Hospital has just been notified that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval by demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission’s national Critical Access Hospital standards for health care quality and safety. This accreditation award excludes our Long Term Care Unit, which is surveyed and licensed yearly by the State of Michigan. Obtaining accreditation demonstrates Ontonagon Memorial Hospital’s (OMH) dedication to providing safe high-quality care to our patients.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission (JCAHO) is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through voluntary accreditation. The Joint Commission’s on-site survey of OMH occurred in November 2006, utilizing the new JCAHO Shared Visions-New Pathwaysâ approach to evaluating quality and safety in your organization. It is truly an audit of the actual delivery of our daily services, operations and systems and not just a review of policies. The surveyor identifies patients they wish to review the care provided. The nurse and staff involved in that care, from across all departments (from admission to discharge), are involved in the surveyor’s review. The staff involvement during this process is crucial as they demonstrate their daily duties and their adherence to internal policies and procedures and how they relate to the JCAHO quality and safety standards. 

 “Above all, the national standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization’s performance and the outcomes of care,” says Darlene Christiansen, executive director, Hospital Accreditation Program, Joint Commission. “The community should be proud that OMH is focusing on the most challenging goal – to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels.”

During the survey process OMH had 4 standards identified as needing improvement.   An Evidence of Standards Compliance Report was submitted to JCAHO indicating the actions OMH has taken to meet and/or exceed compliance with the identified standards and maintain a constant state of survey readiness.

John Osen, Interim CEO for OMH, said “I am proud of the staff and want to thank all staff members for their continual efforts and dedication to providing safe high-quality care to our patients.”