St. Mary’s Health Care System has received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Total Hip Replacement. 

To earn the certification, St. Mary’s demonstrated compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in disease-specific care. The certification recognizes St. Mary’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.

St. Mary’s underwent a rigorous on-site review earlier this year specifically for hip and knee replacement certifications. St. Mary’s has been certified in total knee replacement continuously since 2008, and was seeking first-ever certification in hip replacement. A Joint Commission expert evaluated St. Mary’s for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management. 

"In achieving Joint Commission certification, St. Mary’s has demonstrated its commitment to the highest level of care for its patients in need of total hip replacement," says Michele Sacco, M.S., interim executive director, Certification Programs. “Certification is a voluntary process and I commend St. Mary’s for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.” 

"With Joint Commission certification, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis throughout the organization,” said Don McKenna, St. Mary’s President and CEO. “Joint Commission accreditation provides us a framework to take our organization to the next level and further our culture of excellence.  Achieving Joint Commission certification in total hip replacement continues and expands our commitment to excellence while continually improving the care we provide.”

“Accomplishing and maintaining Joint Commission specialty certification is a team effort,” said Nina Evans, St. Mary’s Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “Our hip replacement certification is possible because of the combined efforts of our outstanding orthopedic surgeons, surgical staff and ancillary care staff, as well as rehabilitation services, home health care and the Center for Rehabilitative Medicine.”

Simultaneously with the hip certification survey, the Joint Commission surveyed St. Mary’s for recertification in four other disease-specific areas. A sixth area, Advanced Inpatient Diabetes care, was recertified in November 2014. As a system, St. Mary’s has been continuously accredited by the Joint Commission since 1954. St. Mary’s six disease-specific certifications are:

• Advanced Primary Stroke Center since 2004
• Heart Failure care since 2007
• Total knee replacement since 2008
• Advanced inpatient diabetes care since 2011
• Spine surgery since 2011
• Total hip replacement, new in 2015

The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities.