(Robbinsdale, MN – September 29, 2016) – Today, North Memorial Health Care announced that both of its hospitals, North Memorial Medical Center and Maple Grove Hospital, have been awarded full certification to the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System by DNV GL. ISO 9001 is the most widely-accepted quality management system in use around the world, and is quickly gaining acceptance among US healthcare providers as a foundation for their quality and patient safety programs.
“Achieving ISO 9001 certification has been a multi-year, system-wide effort and we have worked hard to make sure that quality is part of every team member’s role at North Memorial Health Care,” said J. Kevin Croston, MD, CEO North Memorial Health Care. “As part of their comprehensive reports, the survey teams reviewed all areas of our operations – from making sure that we are maintaining clean and comfortable environments, to ensuring that we follow correct procedures when admitting patients to surgery – everything matters and this designation demonstrates that we are best-in-class.”
ISO 9001 brings science to the art of caregiving; it helps to standardize processes around things that are proven to work, by the people doing the work, thus empowering frontline workers while creating an environment of predictability for the entire organization. The ultimate impact of ISO within hospitals is the reduction or elimination of variation, so that critical work processes are done consistently and the best practices aren’t held by one person or one department, but are ingrained in the organization itself.
“Teams at North Memorial Medical Center and Maple Grove hospital have worked hard to achieve this certification, and they have done so with unwavering commitment from their top leadership to make their hospital the best it can be,” says Patrick Horine, President of DNV – GL Healthcare. “ISO certification isn’t just an award or trophy for something you’ve done, it’s public evidence that you are at the top of your game with an obvious plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective.”
Businesses that implement ISO do so for both the internal and external benefits. Internally it helps staff create clear and consistent processes of patient care, and ensure that progress is constantly being made toward specific quality objectives. Externally, it tells the public, as well as insurers and regulatory agencies, that the hospital is not only talking about quality, but is pursuing it with discipline and transparency.
About DNV GL
DNV GL Healthcare, with offices in Cincinnati and Houston, is a division of DNV GL – Business Assurance, part of the DNV GL Group, an independent foundation dedicated to safeguarding life, property and the environment. Globally, DNV GL – Business Assurance has more than 100 offices and is one of the world’s leading certification, assessment and training companies. For more information about DNV hospital accreditation, visit www.dnvglhealthcare.com.