Joint Commission awards accreditation to Mayo Clinic Health System locations

Contact: Susan Barber Lindquist, 715-838-3012, [email protected]

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. –– By demonstrating compliance with rigorous national standards for health care quality and safety, Mayo Clinic Health System locations have earned accreditation from The Joint Commission, which awarded its Gold Seal of Approval.

Locations accredited after a rigorous, unannounced on-site survey in January and March 2011: Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire: Hospital, clinic and Express Care; Mayo Clinic Health System – Northland; Barron: Hospital and clinic; Cameron: Clinic; Chetek: Clinic; Prairie Farm: Clinic; Rice Lake: Clinic.

A team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated compliance with standards of care specific to patients needs, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

“We take enormous pride in our staff who make it their personal mission every day to provide high-quality care to our patients,” said Dr. Randall Linton, president and chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire and regional locations. “The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval is recognition at a national level of our organization’s commitment to safety and quality improvement.”

All Mayo Clinic Health System sites are surveyed separately. To earn and maintain the Gold Seal of Approval, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through voluntary accreditation. “In achieving Joint Commission accreditation, organizations demonstrate their commitment to the highest level of care for their patients,” says registered nurse Mark Pelletier, executive director, Hospital Programs, Accreditation and Certification Services, The Joint Commission. “Accreditation is a voluntary process, and I commend the Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Eau Claire and the region for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate its standard of care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more at www.jointcommission.org.

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Mayo Clinic Health System consists of Mayo-owned clinics, hospitals and other health care facilities that serve the health care needs of people in 70 communities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The community-based providers, paired with the resources and expertise of Mayo Clinic, enable patients in the region to receive the highest-quality health care close to home.