The Rochester Surgery Center in Rochester, Mich., recently became the 5,000th ambulatory health care organization to be accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). The Center, founded in 2006 by Dr. David Byrd, is a single-specialty ambulatory surgical facility focusing on Mohs Micrographic surgery and reconstruction.
“With all the changes taking place in medicine, we wanted assurance that we were keeping up with the latest standards for ambulatory surgery centers and maintaining high-quality care for our patients," shares Byrd. “We found the AAAHC accreditation process to be extremely helpful and educational for our staff. It’s a sign to both our patients and our community that we are committed to providing safe, quality care."
Dr. Jack Egnatinsky, president of the board of AAAHC, traveled to Rochester to offer his congratulations and present the award to Byrd and his staff. “Like Dr. Byrd, I believe that the process of reviewing the standards and preparing for the on-site survey makes an organization better overall," he states. “The AAAHC works within the framework of building a collaborative, consultative relationship between surveyors and the organizations they survey. Reaching the milestone of accrediting our 5,000th facility demonstrates that surgery centers and other ambulatory organizations recognize the value of that relationship as a driver of quality patient care."
AAAHC accreditation requires an on-site survey by an experienced healthcare professional such as a physician, nurse, medical director or administrator. All organizations are evaluated to determine if they meet AAAHC standards for patient rights, quality of care provided, quality management and improvement, infection prevention and control, organizational administration and governance, management of clinical records and health information, facilities and environment. In addition, other standards must be met based on the services offered by an ambulatory organization, such as anesthesia and other surgical services; diagnostic, pathology and laboratory services; and patient education.
To learn more about ASC accreditation, including the experiences of four different ASCs with four different accrediting bodies, visit the March SurgiStrategies Benchmarking & Accreditation digital issue.
