Published: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017
The Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital Joint Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement.
The advanced certification is for Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers seeking to elevate the quality, consistency and safety of their services and patient care. Kishwaukee Hospital Joint Center is the first in the state of Illinois to receive this recognition.
“We are pleased to receive the advanced certification from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” Dave Smith, joint care coordinator at Kishwaukee Hospital, said in a news release. “We look forward to improving patient safety and quality of care for the increasing number of patients undergoing total hip or total knee replacement surgery.”
The center underwent a rigorous onsite review in November 2016. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with advanced disease-specific care standards and total hip and total knee replacement requirements, including orthopedic consultation, and pre-operative, intraoperative and post-surgical orthopedic surgeon follow-up care.
Established in 2016 and awarded for a two-year period, the advanced certification was developed in response to the growing number of patients undergoing a total hip or total knee replacement surgery, as well as the increased focus on clinical evidence-based patient care as it relates to pain management, quality of life issues, functional limitation in mobility and the return to normal daily activities.
The Kishwaukee Hospital Joint Center has changed the joint replacement experience by using research-based best practices, providing a Joint Center coordinator to guide the process of a joint replacement, advanced training, pre-operative educational training, a personal coach, and a group emphasis both pre- and post-operative. These practices have led to better outcomes. Patients experience a one-day hospital stay, discharged directly to their home rather than a nursing facility, and are up and walking more than 300 feet the morning after surgery with the ability to once again fully extend their knee.
