Page 3 - March 2020 Ulupono

Castle applying for TJC Disease Specific Care Certification for total hip and total knee arthroscopy
by Jane Raymond, RN, Joint Care Clinical Program Coordinator
Adventist Health Castle has applied for The Joint Commission (TJC) Disease Specific Care Certification (DSC) for total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty. (Castle already received certification for stroke in 2018, and the medical center’s bi- annual re-certification survey will take place this summer.)
As part of the certification process, TJC will visit at Castle to do an in-house survey sometime this year to evaluate our care for our hip and knee patients and provide a framework for us to improve patient care. There are many benefits of certification such as improving the quality of patient care by reducing variations in the clinical processes.
Certification requires monitoring performance measures as well as the formulation of a performance improvement plan. Performance measure data and our performance improvement plan are shared at staff meetings, in staff areas and through the joint care interdisciplinary team meeting.
For example, one of the performance measures that is also part of our performance improvement plan is to achieve same day ambulation for 90% of our hip
and knee patients. Same day ambulation is a clinical practice guideline that aids in
recovery and improves outcomes. In the beginning of 2019, our rate for same day ambulation was 59% for patients having total knee replacement surgery and 79% for patients having total hip replacement surgery. By the end of 2019, quarter four was 85% for total knee and 82% for total hip. We have achieved this improvement through anesthesia change, patient and staff education, as well as improved documentation. And, we continue to work toward our goal of 90%.
TJC DSC hip and knee is an important step for Adventist Health Castle as it provides our community with proof that our total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty programs meets the rigorous standards
of the TJC; and provides an objective assessment of clinical excellence and helps us to improve efficiency and outcomes.
Thank you in advance for supporting us as we prepare for this exciting opportunity.
MARCH 2020 - ULUPONO
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