Holzer Receives Gold Seal of Approval for Excellent Sepsis Care
Holzer Medical Center - Gallipolis and Holzer Meigs Emergency Department have earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Sepsis by demonstrating continuous compliance with their performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care. Holzer is one of only three hospitals in Ohio that currently hold this certification.
According to Sepsis Alliance, sepsis is a life-threatening emergency that happens when your body’s response to an infection damages vital organs and, often, causes death. In other words, it’s your body’s overactive and toxic response to an infection.
Overall, the Gold Seal of Approval® recognizes health care organizations that provide clinical programs across the continuum of care for patients with sepsis and septic shock. It evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care, as well as to educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge.
In April 2024, Holzer Medical Center - Gallipolis and Holzer Meigs Emergency Department underwent rigorous, onsite reviews. During the visit, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification standards, including overall program management, delivering standardized care using evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, supporting self-management though patient and caregiver education, and using performance data to improve patient outcomes. Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. The reviewer also conducts onsite observations and interviews with staff and leaders.
“I’m very proud of our team and our partners at Ohio Valley Physicians (OVP) for all the hard work that went into this certification. Sepsis is an under-recognized and under-appreciated cause of illness and death. These efforts will lead to better outcomes for our patients who are treated for sepsis,” shared Dr. Rodney Stout, MD, MMM, CPE, Chief Executive Officer, Holzer Health System.
“Obtaining The Joint Commission’s certification for our sepsis program is not only a significant accomplishment for Holzer; it’s also a win for the patients and families in our communities,” shared Becky Fyffe, MSN, RN, Quality Manager, Sepsis Program Coordinator, Holzer Health System. “This accomplishment is a testament to the positive culture at Holzer, as it has required a great deal of teamwork, acceptance of feedback to drive improvement, and adoption of new workflows to provide safe, high-quality care for sepsis and septic shock. This certification is a promise to the citizens within our communities that we will provide them with the highest quality of care. I’d like to extend a well-deserved thank you to all who have made this accomplishment possible, especially our providers and frontline staff.”
A multidisciplinary team was instrumental in achieving Gold Seal Certification and includes team members from the following departments and disciplines: All Sepsis Committee and Sepsis Steering Committee members, Emergency Department leaders and staff champions, all Inpatient leaders and staff champions, Obstetrics leaders and staff champions, OVP Provider champions, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Information Technology, Quality, and all frontline staff and providers.
For more information on the certification, visit www.jointcommission.org/.
About Holzer
Holzer Health System, a not-for-profit entity, is a regional health system consisting of two hospital locations; multiple clinical locations; a dental care facility; long-term care entities; over 175 providers and more than 30 medical specialties and over 2400 employees. The system includes specialized services including Holzer Center for Cancer Care, Holzer Cardiovascular Services; and Holzer Wound Care Center and receives more than 500,000 patient visits each year. For more information, visit www.holzer.org or call 1-855-4-HOLZER.
