Bon Secours’ Palliative Care Among Leading Programs Nationally
Three Richmond-area hospitals meet Joint Commission’s highest standards for quality and safety
Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center recently earned The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care, which recognizes hospitals for meeting standards and providing high quality palliative care. The three Bon Secours Richmond-area hospitals were the first of the health system’s hospitals to undergo the certification process, joining only about 60 hospitals nationally with this type of certification.
“This is a proud distinction for our palliative medicine staff and our hospitals,” said Peter J. Bernard, chief executive officer, Bon Secours Virginia Health System. “The Joint Commission certification is the gold seal of approval and a testament to a culture of excellence that contributes to our overall care for patients.”
Each of the Bon Secours hospitals received high marks during the evaluation and no findings were cited that required immediate response or improvement. The evaluation noted that many of Bon Secours’ initiatives could serve as best practices for other palliative care programs across the country. The Joint Commission highlighted a number of Bon Secours’ palliative care practices as key examples, including highly trained palliative-specific nurse navigators, the organization of pastoral care and support of palliative care competencies for chaplains. They also pointed out Bon Secours’ vision of a palliative medicine program “without walls” as a unique attribute.
“Achieving the Advanced Certification for Palliative Care recognizes our approach to holistically addressing our patients’ needs and underscores the compassion we have for those afflicted with serious illness,” said Leanne M. Yanni. M.D., medical director, palliative medicine, Bon Secours Virginia Health System. “I want to recognize and thank all of those in our health system who have contributed to this success.”
Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and their families as they overcome the difficulties associated with serious illness, including those undergoing treatment for curable illnesses and those living with chronic diseases. Palliative care is provided by a multi-disciplinary team in coordination with a patient’s primary team of physicians to provide an extra layer of support to help relieve suffering and tailor traditional medical care to their values and goals. Several studies have shown that a patient’s life can be prolonged when they receive palliative care alongside their medical treatment.
There are about 1,500 hospitals nationwide that offer a palliative care team and less than four percent are awarded with The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care.
“Bon Secours joins the leading palliative care teams in the United States as it achieves The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care, validating the quality and depth of their care for people living with serious illness. These leading teams point the way to the health system of the future – one that puts first what matters most to patients and families,” said Diane E. Meier, M.D., director, Center to Advance Palliative Care.
The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification Program for Palliative Care evaluates the level of care and outcomes of a hospital’s palliative care program. The certification process includes a site visit by independent experts in palliative care and review of the program against the standards for palliative care, clinical practice guidelines and performance measurement and improvement activities. The certification recognizes top programs that demonstrate exceptional patient and family centered care for children and adults that optimizes quality of life during serious illness. Programs are awarded certification for a two-year period.
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About Bon Secours Virginia Health System
Bon Secours Virginia provides good help to thousands of Virginians through a network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities across the Commonwealth. The not-for-profit health system employs about 12,000 people, including nearly 300 physicians as part of the Bon Secours Medical Group.
The fourth largest and only faith-based health system in Virginia, Bon Secours Virginia offers a full range of services including cardiac, women’s, children’s, orthopaedics, oncology, neurosciences and surgery at seven award-winning hospitals.
· Bon Secours Richmond is St. Mary’s Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center.
· Bon Secours Hampton Roads is Maryview Medical Center, DePaul Medical Center and Mary Immaculate Hospital.
About The Joint Commission
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide nursing and rehabilitation center care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others. The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
