Late last year, the Joint Commission did an unannounced, on-site review of NKC hospital services department’s compliance with national standards. Among the areas the Joint Commission reviews are how staffing firms determine the qualifications and competency of their employees, how they place them, and how they monitor performance.
NKC has a 55-member hospital services staff providing 11,000 dialysis treatments a year within 10
The independent, nonprofit Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare. It evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States.
"Healthcare organizations that contract with Northwest Kidney Centers can look to this certification as an assurance that NKC demonstrates a commitment to providing and continuously improving quality services," said Michele Sacco, the Joint Commission's executive director of healthcare staffing services certification.
Ongoing shortages of nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals have forced healthcare organizations to increasingly fill positions through contractual arrangements with staffing firms. The Joint Commission's certification program offers an independent, comprehensive evaluation of a staffing firm's services.
"Certification recognizes NKC's dedication to providing nurses and technicians who are well-qualified to deliver the highest caliber care to patients, whether in one of our 13 dialysis centers or in a hospital," said NKC president and CEO Joyce F. Jackson. "We're proud to receive the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval."