ST. LOUIS, MO – SSM Health DePaul Hospital – St. Louis has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark for Heart Attack Certification.
SSM Health DePaul Hospital underwent a rigorous, onsite review on April 16 and 17. During the review, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification standards that included patient care, nursing education, provider education, program management, and process improvement practices for the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) program. Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. The reviewer also conducted onsite observations and interviews with SSM Health DePaul Hospital team members and patients.
“Heart Attack Certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to striving for excellence and fostering continuous improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations and chief nursing officer, The Joint Commission. “We commend SSM Health DePaul Hospital for using The Joint Commission certification process to reduce variation in clinical processes and to strengthen its clinical program to drive safer, higher quality and more compassionate care for individuals served.”
“We congratulate SSM Health DePaul Hospital for this outstanding achievement,” says Nancy Brown, chief executive officer, the American Heart Association. “This certification reflects its commitment to providing the highest quality of care for cardiac patients.”
“This certification signifies our commitment to providing exceptional care to all, delivering the highest quality of care to our patients,” says Deborah Berini, MHA, president of SSM Health DePaul Hospital. “Having certification from The Joint Commission, a global driver of quality improvement and patient safety, demonstrates SSM Health DePaul Hospital’s diligence to ensuring exceptional health care services are provided to all of our patients.”
The STEMI program at SSM Health DePaul Hospital adopted clinical practice guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association to guide patient care. Teams were educated on Primary Heart Attack Center certification for patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and a review of The Joint Commission Standards was also completed. Both processes allowed the team to incorporate high-quality standards recommended by The Joint Commission into the care provided to all health ministry ACS patients.
For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.
About SSM Health:
Nationally recognized for quality and innovation, SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit, fully integrated health system working to advance health equity and empower all people to achieve their full potential.
With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, SSM Health provides convenient access to high-quality community-based services as well as world-class academic medicine, clinical trials, and research studies. The organization’s footprint includes hospitals, physician offices, outpatient and virtual care services, senior care, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a fully transparent pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company, and an accountable care organization. As one of the largest employers in every community it serves, the organization’s 40,000 team members and 13,900+ providers are dedicated to fulfilling SSM Health’s Mission: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.” Like our founding sisters, we care deeply for our communities -- SSM Health reported $470 million in community benefit in 2023, including the provision of more than $346 million in uncompensated care. For more information, visit ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
