DENTON — Choptank Community Health System has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for ambulatory health care, formally recognizing its ongoing commitment to meeting performance standards and delivering safe, quality patient care.
Choptank Health provides medical, dental and behavioral health services in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties.
According to a news release, Choptank Health underwent an unannounced on-site survey for accreditation. During the review, a team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated compliance with related certification standards.
Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients.
According to the news release, Joint Commission surveyors conducted on-site observations and interviews to identify performance strengths and opportunities for continued improvement.
With decades of expertise and a data-driven accreditation process, The Joint Commission helps ensure health care organizations adhere to leading quality and safety practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and commitment to better patient care.
“Through the accreditation process, we worked closely with Choptank Health to enable and affirm the highest standards of health care quality and patient safety,” Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, said in a statement. “Together, we are elevating care for all patients, and we appreciate Choptank Health’s collaboration throughout this process,” he added.
Grubbs is The Joint Commission’s executive vice president of accreditation and certification operations and chief nursing officer.
Choptank Health also earned Primary Care Medical Home Certification from The Joint Commission, recognizing Choptank Health’s efforts to coordinate care, including how its primary care clinicians and interdisciplinary teams work in partnership with patients and their families.
The Joint Commission’s primary care medical home model is based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s five medical home characteristics of patient-centered care, comprehensive care, coordinated care, superb access to care, and a systems-based approach to quality and safety.
Primary Care Medical Home Certification recognizes health care organizations that are committed to striving for excellence and fostering continuous improvement in patient safety and quality of care, according to Grubbs.
“We commend Choptank Health for using The Joint Commission certification process to reduce variation in clinical processes and to strengthen its clinical program to drive safer, higher quality and more compassionate care for individuals served,” he said.
Choptank Health President and CEO Sara Rich said in a written statement, “Earning Primary Care Medical Home Certification and Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation from The Joint Commission reflects our team’s unwavering commitment to delivering coordinated, patient-centered care across the communities we serve. This recognition affirms our focus on quality, safety and access, and reinforces our mission to provide comprehensive, integrated health care for every patient who entrusts us with their care.”
