French Hospital Medical Center Awarded Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification from the Joint Commission

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, September 6, 2023 – Dignity Health  French Hospital Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement 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 certification, offered in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, focuses on the pre-surgical orthopedic consultation to the intraoperative, hospitalization or ambulatory surgical center admission, rehabilitation activities, and follow-up visit with the orthopedic surgeon.

“Receiving this Certification from the Joint Commission is a remarkable achievement for the French Hospital Orthopedics program and our community and joint replacement in particular,” said Patrick Caster, President & CEO of French Hospital. “It symbolizes our steadfast commitment to delivering the highest standards of orthopedic care, ensuring that our patients can lead more active and pain-free lives.”

French Hospital recently underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review by The Joint Commission.  During the two-day inspection, the reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification standards including program management, supporting self-management and delivering and facilitating clinical care.  Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients.  The reviewer also conducted onsite observations and interviews. 

“I'm honored to be part of a program that keeps patients and their families at the center of their care,” said Kristen Coyne, MSN, RN, French Hospital’s Orthopedic Program Coordinator. “We provide each patient with individualized care and ongoing education throughout their entire surgery process in order to help them reach their goals. This Advanced Certification gives our Total Joint Replacement Program the framework to provide services to our community that are research based and data driven. Our number one goal is for patients to continue on with their active lifestyles and get back to doing what they love as quickly and as safely as possible. ”

“Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement Certification recognizes health care organizations committed to striving for excellence and fostering continuous improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations and chief nursing officer, The Joint Commission. “We commend French Hospital Medical Center for using The Joint Commission certification process to reduce variation in clinical processes and to strengthen its clinical program to drive safer, higher quality and more compassionate care for individuals served.”

To learn more about French Hospital Medical Center or to interview someone from the Orthopedics Program about this certification, please contact: [email protected]. 

For more information about French Hospital Medical Center please visit: dignityhealth.org/frenchhospital.

For more information about the Joint Commission, please visit The Joint Commission website.

###

About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 112-bed acute care hospital located in San Luis Obispo, California. French’s Oppenheimer Family Center for Emergency Medicine is the area’s most advanced emergency services center. The modern facility is home to the Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center, is the county’s premier cardiac center, providing the latest cardiac and imaging technology, and the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families.

About the Joint Commission

The Joint Commission is the nation’s leading and most widely recognized health care performance improvement organization. Their vision is that all people always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value health care across all settings. They do this by setting quality standards, evaluating an organization’s performance, and providing an educative experience designed to foster continuous improvement. Today they’ve grown to accredit and certify more than 22,000 health care programs worldwide.