Who is the Joint Commission?

The Joint Commission (JC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization established over 50 years ago. JC is the world leader in evaluating the quality and safety of care delivered in over 17,000 healthcare organizations across the country--from hospitals to home care providers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, outpatient clinics, behavioral health centers, critical access hospitals and healthcare networks.

How Does a Hospital Become JC Accredited?
To maintain and earn accreditation, a hospital undergoes an extensive on-site review by a select team of JC professionals such as administrators, physicians, and nurses at least once every three years. The purpose of the review is to evaluate the hospital's performance in areas that affect patient care. Through an assessment of a hospital's processes and personal visits with its patients and staff, the hospital is evaluated and scored. Accreditation may then be awarded based on how well the hospital met JC standards.

What Does JC Accreditation Mean?
Because its standards are regarded as the most rigorous in the industry, hospitals that choose to be evaluated by JC are therefore committed to providing the highest level of quality care to their patients. 

How To Find Out if a Hospital is Accredited
A list of JC accredited hospitals and their survey results are posted in the "Quality Check"™ section of the JC website at www.jointcommission.org. You can also call JC's Customer Service Department directly at 630-792-5800 for additional information.

Process for Reporting Safety and Quality of Care Concern
If you have concerns with the quality of care that is provided to you or your family, you should:
• Discuss with the supervisor on duty (on the nursing unit or department).
• If you do not feel comfortable discussing with the supervisor, then you may contact the Clinical Coordinator (601-968-1258) or the Risk Manager (601-968-1103). They may also be paged by calling 601-968-1000.
• After reporting your concerns, if you feel that the problems have not been addressed, you may contact the Department Director, Vice President, or Mr. Cotton, President, MBMC (601-968-1000).
• After speaking with hospital leaders and you still feel that the safety/quality issues have continued, you may contact the Office of Quality Monitoring at the Joint Commission (JC) at 1-800-994-6610.

Baptist Medical Center has been awarded the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval ™. Additionally, Baptist has achieved Disease-Specific Care Certification for Baptist's Cancer Services; Heart Services in the area of acute coronary syndrome, and Diabetes Services in the area of outpatient education.