HealthNet Community Health Centers First in Indiana to be Awarded Accreditation from the Joint Commission

4/9/2007

By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety, HealthNet Community Health Centers is the first and only network of primary health care centers in Indiana to earn the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™. Only 280 centers nationwide have achieved this honor.

“We sought accreditation for our organization because we want to demonstrate our commitment to patients’ safety and quality care,” says Booker Thomas, HealthNet president and CEO. “We view obtaining Joint Commission accreditation as another step toward achieving excellence.”

“Accreditation by The Joint Commission sets HealthNet apart,” says Michael Kulczycki, executive director, Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “Organizations awarded this Gold Seal of Approval™ dedicate themselves to continuous operational improvement.”

“The accreditation process helps promote continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in health care organizations,” says Margaret Peck, executive director, Laboratory Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. “Achieving accreditation demonstrates HealthNet’s commitment to providing high quality and safe services.”

The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced, on-site evaluation of HealthNet in late 2006. The accreditation award recognizes HealthNet’s dedication to complying with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards on a continuous basis.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

HealthNet has been consecutively reaccredited by the JCAHO since 1997. For over 39 years, HealthNet has been a mainstay in the Indianapolis community. Through its network of five community-based health centers, one OB Care Center, and six school-based clinics, HealthNet annually serves over 40,000 individuals and families. Many of them are uninsured or underinsured and live below the federal poverty level.