Baptist Health Lexington awarded Advanced Palliative Care certification from The Joint Commission
December 05, 2016
Baptist Health Lexington has earned Advanced Palliative Care certification from The Joint Commission, demonstrating the hospital's focus on achieving optimum care for patients with serious illnesses.
Baptist Health Lexington has earned Advanced Palliative Care certification from The Joint Commission, demonstrating the hospital’s focus on achieving optimum care for patients with serious illnesses.
This certification is the second for Baptist Health Lexington, which was the first hospital in Kentucky to achieve Advanced Palliative Care certification from The Joint Commission in 2014.
Palliative care is for patients with life-limiting illnesses whose symptoms are controllable. These patients have an average prognosis of one to two years. In 1999, when Baptist Health Lexington started its palliative care program, only 5 to 10 percent of the nation’s hospitals had similar programs. According to the Center to Advance Palliative Care’s 2015 Palliative Care Report, 90 percent of U.S. hospitals containing 300 beds or more now offer palliative care services.
Baptist Health Lexington underwent a rigorous onsite review and was deemed compliant with national palliative care standards built on the National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and the National Quality Forum’s National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Quality Care.
Established in 2011, The Joint Commission’s Palliative Care Certification is awarded for a two-year period and recognizes organizations that demonstrate exceptional patient and family-centered care in order to optimize the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.
This certification is the second for Baptist Health Lexington, which was the first hospital in Kentucky to achieve Advanced Palliative Care certification from The Joint Commission in 2014.
Palliative care is for patients with life-limiting illnesses whose symptoms are controllable. These patients have an average prognosis of one to two years. In 1999, when Baptist Health Lexington started its palliative care program, only 5 to 10 percent of the nation’s hospitals had similar programs. According to the Center to Advance Palliative Care’s 2015 Palliative Care Report, 90 percent of U.S. hospitals containing 300 beds or more now offer palliative care services.
Baptist Health Lexington underwent a rigorous onsite review and was deemed compliant with national palliative care standards built on the National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and the National Quality Forum’s National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Quality Care.
Established in 2011, The Joint Commission’s Palliative Care Certification is awarded for a two-year period and recognizes organizations that demonstrate exceptional patient and family-centered care in order to optimize the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.