OCH Recertified to ISO 9001 Quality Management System by DNV

OCH Regional Medical Center has been recertified by DNV and once again awarded full certification to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. The recertification comes after a recent a three-day onsite survey from DNV.

By earning accreditation, OCH has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards (Conditions of Participation) set forth by the U.S. Centers

for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DNV’S accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation.

“OCH has worked hard to achieve this certification, and they have done so with unwavering commitment from their top leadership to make their hospital the best it can be,” says Patrick Horine, President of DNV Healthcare USA Inc. “ISO 9001 certification isn’t just an award or trophy for something you’ve done, it’s public evidence that you are at the top of your game with an obvious plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective.”

DNV’S accreditation program, called NIAHO® (Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), involves annual hospital surveys – instead of every three years – and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.

“We are dedicated to providing the safest and most effective healthcare services possible,” said OCH Administrator/ceo Jim Jackson. “ISO 9001 is ideally suited to the complex, peopleintensive challenges of running a hospital. This recertification not only reflects our mission, but helps to empower it.”

ISO 9001 is the most widely

accepted quality management system in use around the world and brings science to the art of caregiving. The ultimate impact of ISO 9001 within hospitals is

the reduction or elimination of variation, so that critical work processes are done consistently and the “best ideas” aren’t held by one person or one department, but are ingrained in the organization itself.

Businesses that implement ISO 9001 do so for both the

internal and external benefits. Internally, it helps staff create clear and consistent processes of patient care, and ensure that progress is constantly being made toward specific quality objectives. Externally, it tells the public, as well as insurers and regulatory agencies, that the hospital is not

only talking about quality, but is pursuing it with discipline and transparency.

OCH Accreditation Officer Savannah Brown said, “ISO 9001 is like sheet music for an orchestra; it gets everyone on the same page and helps us achieve our objectives.”