Group Health Central Hospital in Seattle has moved to DNV’s NIAHO accreditation.
Group Health Central Hospital in Seattle is part of the Group Health Cooperative, an integrated delivery and financing system providing care to approximately 400,000 residents in the state of Washington and northern Idaho in the US. The organisation operates 26 primary care centres, three specialty centres, and one hospital.
The NIAHOSM is a hospital accreditation program developed and owned by DNV that provides hospitals with an integrated concept to enhance quality and patient safety. It contains standards that are compatible with the requirements of the Conditions of Participation (CoP) of the US Government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Forums – an important way of networking
“It all started out at the annual Institute for Healthcare Improvement National Forum,” says Elizabeth Rosen, RN, BSN, director of quality and regulatory compliance at Central Hospital. “DNV was there and I discussed the situation with them and came back to share my interest with our leadership.”
The hospital was previously accredited by the Joint Commission.
Recognising DNV
“In a related development that reflects the growing confidence of local authorities in DNV’s accreditation, the state of Washington recently changed its law and now allows DNV hospital accreditation to be accepted as equivalent to its own mandatory periodic (at least every 18 months) unannounced inspections,” says Yehuda Dror, Manager for Healthcare in the US for DNV.