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Calumet Medical Center earns 'Gold Seal of Approval'

02 / 26 / 2007

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CHILTON, Wis. – Calumet Medical Center has been fully accredited by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, earning The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval.

To earn the Gold Seal of Approval, health care facilities must undergo on-site surveys by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years to determine if the facility is meeting national standards for health care quality and safety.

“Achieving The Joint Commission accreditation speaks volumes about the high caliber of health care services delivered to patients at Calumet Medical Center,” said Jennifer Weber, director of Patient Care Services at Calumet Medical Center. “The survey goes far beyond just assessing various licensing requirements. It focuses on processes and performance that lead to high-quality, safe health care delivery. Our community should feel confident that they are receiving patient care from a committed, talented and compassionate team of health professionals.”

The Joint Commission standards address a health care facility’s level of performance in key functional areas, such as patient rights, patient treatment and infection control. The standards focus not only on an organization’s ability to provide safe, high quality care, but on its actual performance as well. Standards set forth performance expectations of activities that affect the safety and quality of patient care.

“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 Hospital Accreditation Program for The Joint Commission. “The community should be proud that Calumet Medical Center is focusing on the most challenging goal—to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels.”

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through voluntary accreditation.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is ranked 24 among the top 100 integrated health care networks nationwide (Verispan 2008). Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 37th among the 250 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 23 family practice and specialty clinics in 13 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.