Shoshone Medical Center earns quality-based certification

Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg announced it has completed its re-accreditation process and was awarded full certification to the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System by DNV GL.

The 25-bed, acute care hospital is the second Critical Access Hospital in Idaho and the first hospital in the Inland Northwest to have achieved this full certification from DNV GL, an international certification body and classification society with main expertise in technical assessment, advisory and risk management.

By earning certification, Shoshone Medical Center has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DNV GL’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. It is the most widely accepted quality management system in use around the world, and is quickly gaining acceptance among U.S. health care providers as a foundation for their quality and patient safety programs.

“Shoshone Medical Center is dedicated to providing the safest and most effective health care services possible,” said Jerry Brantz, the hospital’s CEO/CFO, in a press release. “The DNV GL program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety. ISO certification not only reflects that commitment, but helps empower it. The accreditation and certification are more than pieces of paper. They define the efforts made to fundamentally transform the way we provide care and services to our community.”

Shoshone Medical Center’s DNV GL and ISO journey began in 2011 when the hospital’s board of directors and administrators recognized the need for additional quality and safety oversight through annual surveys from an accrediting body. They wanted to ensure the processes they were implementing were being evaluated for compliance and patient safety. Exploring different options, DNV GL was chosen as the best fit.

Shoshone Medical Center received original DNV GL Accreditation in 2012 and has maintained that status since. Hospitals have three years from their original DNV GL Accreditation to meet the compliance requirements for ISO 9001 Certification. After their 2015 annual survey, Shoshone Medical Center became the second Critical Access Hospital and third hospital total in Idaho to achieve the ISO 9001:2008 Certification.

DNV GL’s accreditation program involves annual hospital surveys — instead of every three years as do other agencies — and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.

“Shoshone Medical Center has worked hard to achieve and maintain their accreditation and certification, and they have done so with unwavering commitment from their top leadership and staff to make their hospital the best it can be,” said Patrick Horine, president of DNV GL — Healthcare. “Our accreditation, along with the ISO Certification, isn’t just an award or trophy, it is public evidence that you are operating with an obvious plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective.”

Shoshone Medical Center provides critical access health care in Shoshone County with a population of approximately 12,000. The hospital offers many inpatient and outpatient services including emergency care, post-acute rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, respiratory therapy, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation, on-site laboratory testing, 3D mammography, echocardiography, diagnostic radiology, ultrasound, wound care, infusion and transfusion services.

For more information, please contact Shoshone Medical Center at (208) 784-1221.