NEW ORLEANS — The St. Margaret’s Daughter’s Home (St. Margaret’s at Mercy) has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Nursing Care Center Accreditation and Post-Acute Care Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
The St. Margaret’s Daughters underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review in October 2022. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Nursing Care Center Accreditation and Post-Acute Care Certification standards spanning several areas including emergency management, life safety, human resources, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, rights and responsibilities of the individual, information management, provisions and records of care, treatment, and services.
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess, and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
“As a health care accreditor, The Joint Commission works with health care organizations across settings to help improve patient safety and quality of care through our expert resources and tools, innovative solutions and rigorous standards,” says Deborah Ryan, MS, RN, interim executive vice president, Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission. “We commend The St. Margaret’s Daughters for its commitment to advance safety and quality for all patients.”
“It is an honor and privilege to receive accreditation and certification from The Joint Commission,” said Larry Stansberry, CEO of St. Margaret’s Daughters. “We are ensuring our team is held to the highest standards which ultimately improves quality and outcomes for the elders we serve.”
In preparation for The Joint Commission, a checklist was developed to ensure that all standards and elements of performance that required written documentation were compiled, accurate, and approved. Over 18 months, the St. Margaret’s team held weekly meetings with the CEO, COO, Nursing Home Administrator, Director of Nursing, Environmental Service Manager/Maintenance and Human Resources to drive readiness. In addition, our team frequently rounded and held in-services. Before the survey, a mock survey was conducted to simulate the 3-day Joint Commission survey process.
For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.