Alta Bates Summit Medical Center passes accreditation inspection

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 29, 2006 | by Rebecca Vesely, STAFF WRITER

Following more than a year of scrutiny from a hospital accreditation group, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center appears to be out of the woods after passing an inspection earlier this week.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or JCAHO -- known as "Jayco" -- accredits about 15,000 hospitals and other health care groups nationwide based on surveys performed every three years.

In November 2004, during a routine tri-annual survey, JCAHO inspectors found multiple problems at Alta Bates Summit campuses in Berkeley and Oakland -- resulting in a preliminary denial of accreditation with the group.

That same year, only 12 hospitals nationwide received a preliminary denial of accreditation -- a serious issue that put the hospital on track for losing its accreditation.

Loss of accreditation with JCAHO can trigger federal and state investigations into a hospital's quality and can result in the hospital losing millions in key funding.

Problem areas at Alta Bates Summit included informed patient consent; response to adverse drug events and medical errors; and actions to reduce the risk of infections contracted at the hospital, according to JCAHO reports.

Last August, Alta Bates Summit was granted "conditional accreditation" -- meaning it could lose its accreditation based on future surveys. It was out of compliance in 13 areas, according to JCAHO.

Charlene Hill, spokeswoman for JCAHO, said Wednesday that Alta Bates is now fully accredited through 2007, based on the results of a survey performed Monday and Tuesday.

"They were found to be in full compliance with the standards," she said.

JCAHO is expected to return in 2007 for another survey -- a routine event that occurs at participating hospitals every three years.

In a memo to employees, Alta Bates Summit CEO Warren Kirk praised staff and physicians for their work.

"This has been a difficult journey, with many lessons learned along the way," he wrote. "The most important one being that we have set a standard that we maintain going forward. The bar is very high, and we must continue to exceed it."

Contact Rebecca Vesely at

rvesely@angnewspapers.com.