Lake City Medical Center accreditation is renewed

Lake City Medical Center's efforts to provide quality care and ensure patient safety are being recognized with a Gold Seal of Approval by the Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest accrediting and standards-setting organization in health care.

The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced on-site evaluation of Lake City Medical Center in the fall. Results released by the commission indicated that the center achieved its full accreditation award. This award excludes nursing home services, which are instead evaluated by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The medical center was last fully surveyed and accredited in December of 2005.

“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," said Darlene Christiansen, executive director of the commission's Hospital Accreditation Program. "The community should be proud that Lake City Medical Center is focusing on the most challenging goal — to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels."

The commission evaluates and accredits nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services.

Tags: news, lake, city, medical, center