St. Luke’s hospital bags int’l accreditation anew

MANILA, Philippines—St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City (SLMC-QC) on Friday announced the renewal of its international accreditation with the Joint Commission International (JCI), the world’s most prestigious accrediting body of healthcare organizations.

In a press conference, JCI lead surveyor Dr. Enrico Baldantoni reported that St. Luke’s-Quezon City had passed the international standards assessment for patient care and safety among others, and recently received notification of its accreditation—its fourth— from the JCI central office in Chicago, Illinois.

In 2003, SLMC-QC earned the distinction of being the first hospital in the Philippines and the second in Asia to be awarded JCI accreditation. It now claims to be the first to receive the award for a fourth time.

The JCI survey is conducted every three years to ensure that every hospital organization’s policies, procedures and evaluation methods are up-to-date and compliant with worldwide standards.

The accreditation means the healthcare that the hospital offers is benchmarked with the highest standards of care and safety practiced by renowned hospitals around the world, as set by the JCI.

“Earning accreditation from JCI is another step towards excellence in patient care,” St. Luke’s president and CEO, Dr. Edgardo R. Cortez, said in an e-mailed statement.

A team of three JCI surveyors—a physician, a nurse and an administrator—visited the SLMC-QC from Nov. 19 to 23. The team scrutinized various aspects of the hospital including facility management, infection control, patient safety, documentation of patient records, staff qualifications and disaster preparedness, and compared these to over 1500 international standards in continuous healthcare improvement.

In the global healthcare community, JCI is considered the authority in patient safety and quality improvement with a presence in more than 90 countries to date.