The University of Toledo Medical Center completed months of intense preparation Friday as the Joint Commission, UTMC’s accrediting body, completed its site visit.
While the final report won’t be completed until late this year or early 2015, UTMC CEO Dave Morlock said he was incredibly proud of the way hospital staff and clinical faculty stepped up this week and all year.
“I am so proud of these people. These are people committed to the health of tens of thousands in this community, and they work so hard to provide the very best care available,” Morlock said. “We have a couple laundry list items to take care of, but as an organization, we’re in a really great place to keep raising the bar.”
“You should be proud to work here,” said Joint Commission surveyor Dr. William Lundberg during the exit conference Friday afternoon. “Northwest Ohio should be proud of the care delivered at UTMC.”
Marge McFadden, chief administrative officer for quality and patient safety, who has been leading much of UT’s Joint Commission preparation, said the entire visit was a very evaluative and consultative process.
“Our staff were great at showing the evaluators what we do and, in turn, they gave us some great advice on ways we can improve,” McFadden said. “These visits are an important learning tool for any hospital, and we’re excited about changes and improvements we can make to advance health care at UTMC.”
McFadden said one area the Joint Commission was particularly impressed with centered on UTMC’s preparedness for Ebola Virus Disease.
“We demonstrated our procedures in the simulation center for them and they were very complimentary of our level of preparedness,” she said.
McFadden also said the evaluators praised the participation of so many physicians and the close consultations with UT Board of Trustee members, saying at many organizations, institutional leadership isn’t as involved as it has proven to be at the University and UTMC.
Dr. Christopher Cooper, dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, and senior vice president for clinical affairs, reaffirmed how proud he was of the staff and physicians at UTMC. “Our faculty and staff provide high-quality and safe care, while educating the next generation of health-care professionals.
“We no longer view the Joint Commission visit as a test; we see it as a step in our journey to improve patient care,” Cooper said. “Once the Joint Commission leaves, we will continue on our journey to eliminate infections and improve care. We will implement any recommendations they have and keep pushing to get better all across the organization.”
