DNV's accredatation for Neosho Memorial

Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center, Chanute, has completed a new accreditation process from Det Norske Veritas Healthcare. By earning accreditation, Neosho Memorial has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards (Conditions of Participation or COPs) set forth by the US  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

DNV’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. DNV’s modern accreditation program integrates ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System into the Medicare COPs.

“The DNV program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety,” says Dennis E. Franks, chief executive officer of NMRMC. “The ability to integrate ISO 9001 quality standards with our clinical and financial processes is a major step forward.”

“Ratings can tell you a lot about quality. Five stars means that a hotel has first-rate accommodations.  Accreditation shows that a hospital meets national standards in patient care a safety,” Franks continued. “We liked DNV’s accreditation program because not only are they here every year, they use ISO 9001,” he added. “Local industry understands
that ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized standard for quality management of businesses. It applies to the processes that surround the delivery of a service to ensure that the needs and expectations of customers are met.”

Neosho  Memorial  has  three years from the date of its accreditation to achieve compliance with ISO 9001.

“We have taken an entirely different approach to accreditation, and hospitals are really responding,” says DNV Healthcare CEO, Patrick Horine. “Since accreditation is a must-have credential for just about every hospital in this country, why not make it more valuable, and get more out of it? That’s where ISO 9001 comes into play, and turns the
typical get-your-ticket-punched accreditation exercise into a quality transformation.”
 

In the past year, every NMRMC employee was trained in LEAN methodologies. LEAN provides tools to standardize daily work and make processes easier for patients, physicians and staff.  "LEAN is a structured way to continuously expose opportunities and refine process to deliver value to patients,” Katie Zubeck, one of NMRMC’s LEAN coordinators said.   

“Our goal is to give our patients hospital visits that incorporate the highest quality of care as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Franks said.
 

DNV’s accreditation program, called NIAHO® (Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), involves annual hospital surveys – compared to every three years – and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.