December 10, 2019
Both Good Samaritan and Bethesda Hospital independently achieved The Joint Commission Gold Standard of Approval of The Advanced Inpatient Diabetes programs in February 2018. Both hospitals achieved their initial certifications without any recommendations for improvement. The certification of the diabetes programs was the first hospital-wide, disease-specific Joint Commission certification achieved at either Good Samaritan or Bethesda North. This was a significant achievement because all team members at the flagship hospitals participated in obtaining the certification. Our first re-certification surveys will happen sometime between December 24, 2019 and March 23, 2020. The survey is one day at each institution and may happen back to back or at different times.
The mission of the Diabetes Programs is dedicated to serving the needs of patients with all types of diabetes with compassion and a commitment to excellence. The goal is to provide state-of-the-art care to every diabetic, every time. The objectives are to optimize patient outcomes utilizing standardized performance measures and to provide education to optimize diabetes self-management.
There are many requirements for certification (a whole manual) but the requirements can be summed up as measures to provide evidence based care that is both safe and produces the best possible outcomes for patients who have diabetes. One of those requirements is that all team members, whether they are clinical or nonclinical, be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is an abnormally low blood sugar which patients with diabetes may experience unexpectedly. It is a medical emergency which requires prompt recognition of the symptoms and treatment. The person with diabetes experiencing hypoglycemia will likely recognize the symptoms themselves but confusion is a possible symptom of hypoglycemia and may prevent the patient from recognizing his/her hypoglycemia and responding appropriately.
Thank you for providing the best care to every diabetic, every time - earning JC Gold Seal Approval of the GS and BN diabetes programs.
Posted by: Elissa Pleshinger on December 13, 2019
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Thanks everyone for all of your hard work in making our diabetes program a center of excellence!
Posted by: Lindsey Neese on December 11, 2019
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