Press Releases

January 08, 2008

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Awarded Accreditation from The Joint Commission

Lake Forest, Ill. –– By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission‘s national standards for health-care quality and safety, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital (LFH), its affiliated Westmoreland Nursing Center, Outpatient & Acute Care Center in Grayslake and Home Health Care program remain fully accredited by again earning The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™.

“We sought accreditation for our organization because we want to demonstrate our commitment to patient safety and quality care,” says Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital President and CEO Thomas J. McAfee. “We view obtaining Joint Commission accreditation as another step toward achieving excellence.”

The Joint Commission conducted an unannounced, on-site evaluation of Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in mid-December. The accreditation award recognizes the hospital’s dedication to complying with the Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards on a continuous basis.

"Above all, the national standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization's performance and the outcomes of care," says LFH Awarded Joint Commission  Accreditation

Darlene Christiansen, executive director, Hospital Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission.
"The community should be proud that Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital is focusing on the most challenging goal – to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels."

LFH Vice President of Patient Care Services Kim Nagy spoke of her pride in a professional staff whose commitment to patient safety promotes an environment of quality health care. “This latest Joint Commission accreditation validates the outstanding processes and systems we have in place,” she said. “We continually challenge ourselves to exceed the expectations of our patients, their families and physicians. For example, our nursing department has embarked on the ‘Magnet’ journey to further support Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s goal of providing the highest level of clinical care to its community.”

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission (formerly The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or JCAHO) seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health-care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health-care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health-care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, not-for-profit organization, it’s the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.