South Georgia Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
 
SGMC underwent a rigorous series of unannounced onsite reviews dating back to last November.  The accreditation received is retroactive to November, 2018.
 
During the visits, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with hospital standards spanning several areas including: emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.
 
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
 
“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend SGMC for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”
 
According to SGMC CEO Bill Forbes, the goal is for the organization to stay survey-ready. “We are committed to high-quality, cost effective care as recognized by our 4-STAR rating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and by numerous patient testimonials.  We are pleased the dedication and hard work exhibited by our physicians and staff has been recognized by the Joint Commission.”