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By demonstrating compliance with national standards for health care quality and safety, Grande Ronde Hospital has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation's health care through voluntary accreditation. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services.

The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced on-site evaluation of Grande Ronde Hospital in the spring. The accreditation award recognizes Grande Ronde Hospital’s dedication to complying with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards on a continuous basis.

“Seeking accreditation with The Joint Commission is a way to demonstrate our commitment to patient safety and quality care,” says Jim Mattes, president and CEO of the hospital. “We view obtaining Joint Commission accreditation as another step toward achieving excellence.”

Doug Romer, executive director of patient care services, echoed Mattes’ sentiments. “We can be proud that we are accredited by The Joint Commission, he said. “It is noteworthy that many critical access hospitals do not attempt nor achieve JCAHO accreditation.”

National standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization's performance and the outcomes of care," says Darlene Christiansen, executive director, Hospital Accreditation Program, Joint Commission. "The community should be proud that Grande Ronde Hospital is focusing on the most challenging goal -- to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels."