Congratulations on a Successful Joint Commission Survey!

To employees of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and school of medicine faculty and staff

Dear Colleagues,

Every three years, the Joint Commission conducts unannounced hospital inspections to ensure that we are meeting quality and safety performance standards for our patients. Not only is this survey for accreditation an important condition of licensure for the hospital, it also serves as a nationwide symbol that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting high standards of performance.

We are pleased to share that The Johns Hopkins Hospital completed its four-day triennial evaluation today. Joint Commission surveyors were impressed with our commitment to patient safety and our implementation of best practices. Specifically, they noted exceptional performance in areas such as:

• central sterile processing, in both central and satellite areas
• family and patient involvement
• staff participation and knowledge
• our commitment to safety and our Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) activities

Surveyors noted the high level of family and patient involvement. They shared touching stories throughout the week: One of our staff members who spent their time off duty to organize a patient’s home. Another care team arranged to bring a severely burned child's pet cow to an area just outside the hospital where the child could see the cow – all as part of a concerted effort to improve the child's morale. The Joint Commission was also highly complementary of our environmental care staff members. They observed how evident it is that they work hard to maintain a pristine environment all of the time, not just for the survey.

Although Dana Moore, director of regulatory affairs, and Susan Franklin, senior director for accreditation and certification, carry out their responsibilities without expectation of praise, we want to commend them for their calm organization and extraordinary leadership. Together with their staff members, they helped ensure that everyone was prepared and the myriad of logistics and details were coordinated.

We expect to receive our final report next week and will begin to address any noted requirements for improvements.

Thank you and congratulations to all of you for making our survey such a remarkable success.

Sincerely,

Ronald R. Peterson
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System
EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Judy A. Reitz, Sc.D.
Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer