January 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sacred Heart Hospital awarded accreditation from
The Joint Commission

Eau Claire, Wis., ─ By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety, Sacred Heart Hospital has earned accreditation from The Joint Commission.

“We are extremely proud of our staff and physicians for their dedication and excellence, which has enabled us to receive this accreditation from The Joint Commission,” said Faye Deich, Chief Operating Officer for Sacred Heart Hospital. “This accreditation is a direct result of our hospital’s continuous improvement efforts and our unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality care possible to patients in the western Wisconsin region."

The Joint Commission's on-site survey of Sacred Heart Hospital occurred in June 2007.

"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, Hospital Accreditation Program, Joint Commission. "The community should be proud that Sacred Heart Hospital is focusing on the most challenging goal -- to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels."

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States and is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation's health care through voluntary accreditation. 

To earn and maintain accreditation from The Joint Commission, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years.

###

Sacred Heart Hospital is an affiliate of the Hospital Sisters Health System. Since 1889 it has been meeting patient needs in western Wisconsin with the latest medical innovations and technology, together with a Franciscan whole-person healing tradition.