Children's Memorial's Asthma Best Practices receives JCAHO's “Gold Seal of Approval”

April 4, 2005 - Children's Memorial Hospital's Asthma Best Practices team has earned the Gold Seal of Approval for health care quality. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations awarded their disease-specific care certification to Children's Memorial Hospital for its asthma management—one of only two pediatric hospitals in the country to receive this award. The best practices team includes the allergy and pulmonary outpatient services and the hospital's inpatient units for kids with asthma.

To earn this distinction, the Joint Commission does an extensive on-site evaluation of the hospital's asthma and pulmonary areas—including interviewing patients and staff. The certificate means the multi-disciplinary asthma best practices team is doing the right things to promote patient safety and to improve care.

"This is the first time Children's Memorial has pursued this comprehensive, independent evaluation," said Mark Palmer, director of Process Improvement. "We're thrilled to achieve this distinction among pediatric hospitals."

The Joint Commission launched its disease-specific care certification program in 2002. It is the first program of its kind in the country to certify disease management programs. A list of Joint Commission-certified programs is available at www.jcaho.org.

Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission seeks to improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations.

For more information contact Julie Pesch at 773.880.4500 in Public Affairs and Communications at Children's Memorial Hospital.