United Hospital District, an independent and award-winning healthcare system in Blue Earth, has announced the successful completion of its new accreditation process, awarded by DNV Healthcare USA, Inc, an independent expert in quality assurance and risk management.
By earning accreditation, United Hospital District has demonstrated that it meets or exceeds quality and patient safety standards set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DNV’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9,001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation.
“The DNV program is consistent with our long term commitment to quality and patient safety,” says Rick Ash, CEO. “The ability to integrate ISO 9,001 quality standards with our clinical and financial processes is a major step forward.”
With this CMS Accreditation, United Hospital District now has the option over the next three years to achieve ISO 9,001 standards, a quality management system used by numerous organizations around the world.
DNV’s accreditation program, called HIAHO (National Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, involves annual hospital surveys, instead of every three years, and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.