WorkingWell, the Occupational Health program of Franciscan Alliance's Northwest Indiana hospitals, reached a milestone recently when the last three of its five sites gained International Organization of Standardization certification.
WorkingWell's Hammond, Munster and Valparaiso locations recently joined their Crown Point and Michigan City counterparts in gaining the ISO 9001:2008 certification.
(Pictured: Rich Shelhamer, far right, national sales manager for Rosemont, Ill.-based Perry Johnson Registrars, displays the latest ISO certification award with Tom Gryzbek, center, president of Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Hammond and Dyer; and Tim Ross, Franciscan Alliance regional director of occupational/employee health.)
WorkingWell, a freestanding occupational health provider, is the only program of its kind to receive the designation.
ISO is the world's largest developer of international standards that have been instituted in 162 nations. For more than 65 years, ISO has been a leader in quality certifications for the steel and manufacturing industries. ISO certification assures a quality management system that provides a foundation of best practices, resulting in highest-quality care, improved outcomes and reduced errors for patients.
ISO certification follows a rigorous audit of an organization's quality management system. Quality goals are set, and when they are met, new goals are determined for a continuously improving quality system.
"Industry recognizes ISO as a global standard," said Tim Ross, Franciscan Alliance regional director of occupational/employee health. "Industry vendors are held to those standards, so why not hold occupational health to those standards? We are aligning ourselves with businesses; what better way to do that than to reach industry standards they understand."
WorkingWell provides occupational health care services for all types of workers, including professional, industrial, police officers and firefighters.
Tom Gryzbek, president of Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Hammond and Dyer, was pleased to hear of the certification.
"Franciscan St. Margaret Health always strives to meet and exceed quality standards and metrics. The ability of our occupational medicine program to achieve this stellar recognition reflects the commitment to provide top-notch quality to the employees of the industrial clients we are privileged to serve," he said.
For more information on WorkingWell, visit: http://www.workingwellsite.org/.
No comments:
Post a Comment