81.4 F
Cruz Bay
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeCommentaryLetter to the Editor: SRMC Has a Successful Joint Commission Survey

Letter to the Editor: SRMC Has a Successful Joint Commission Survey

Congratulations to our entire staff at Schneider Regional Medical Center on successfully completing our regular, unannounced accreditation survey by The Joint Commission. Our leadership team and I, along with our entire community, express our sincere appreciation to our staff for their daily dedication to our patients and for their commitment to making Schneider Regional a place where our patients can get the safe and compassionate quality care they deserve.

Attaining Joint Commission accreditation means that Schneider Regional Medical Center complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care and that we are committed to continually improving patient care at our organization. Every three years, The Joint Commission performs an unannounced inspection of the Schneider Regional Medical Center – including our Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas and our Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center on St. John – to ensure that we are meeting important quality and safety standards for our patients.

Schneider Regional had a three-day survey by The Joint Commission on September 27, 28, and 29. A physician surveyor, a nurse surveyor, and a facilities surveyor were on-site at our facilities, inspecting everything we do. These highly trained surveyors evaluated Schneider Regional on 250 standards and looked at all of our practices, including how we handle patient rights and education, infection control, medication management, preventing medical errors, verifying that our doctors, nurses, and other staff are qualified and competent, preparing for emergencies, collecting data on our performance, and using our data to improve ourself. Special thanks and commendations go out to our Performance Improvement team, led by Dr. Delphine Olivacce, and our Nursing and Facility Management teams for their excellent work.

We want to let our patients and community know that Schneider Regional will continue to be accredited with The Gold Seal of Approval® from The Joint Commission. Although The Joint Commission typically takes two weeks to two months after a survey to render an official decision, all indications suggest that Schneider Regional Medical Center received a very high score and will continue to be accredited. This is a major achievement, particularly considering that we are a hospital on a small island with very complex challenges and are still recovering from the effects of two major category 5 hurricanes (Irma and Maria).

Professional, independent surveyors of The Joint Commission have validated that Schneider Regional Medical Center is an excellent and safe place to receive care. They were able to see how much our staff cares about our patients and how our staff goes above and beyond daily for our patients. You can trust Schneider Regional with your health care.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.