Altru Health System Awarded Accreditation from The Joint Commission

Altru Health System has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital and Home Care Accreditation 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.

Altru underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review in August and September 2019. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with hospital and home care standards spanning several areas including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.

The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Altru Health System for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”

“Joint Commission accreditation highlights Altru’s continued effort to provide quality care to our community and region,” states Dr. Steven Weiser, Executive Vice President, and Chief Medical Officer. “Participating in the unannounced surveys and continuing our accreditation is a top priority, and our employees do an outstanding job of working to ensure Altru meets and exceeds standards. This achievement shows the skill and patient focus of our medical staff, RNs, others involved in direct patient care, and the support staff.”

For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.

About Altru Health System

Based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Altru Health System is a regional, integrated healthcare delivery system serving northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Altru is a physician-led, multi-specialty group practice with an acute care hospital, Level II trauma center, specialty hospital, more than two dozen Grand Forks and regional practice locations, and a large home care network. Altru employs over 300 physicians and advanced practice providers and 3,800 staff. With a focus on advanced technology, Altru deployed the first Mako® Robotic Arm system in North Dakota and enhanced Altru’s Robotics with the recent addition of the DaVinci Xi Robotic Surgical System. In 2018, Altru was awarded fourth Most Wired® in the nation, a recognition for systems at the forefront of using healthcare information technology to improve the delivery of care. Altru Health System has received accreditation from the Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation, and has achieved 50 years of CARF accreditation at Altru’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital. Altru Health System was the first member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, extending Mayo Clinic knowledge and expertise to the patients we serve. For more information, visit altru.org.