Joint Commission to survey 81st MDG Published Jan. 28, 2013 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 81st Medical Group received word Jan. 24 that a survey by the Joint Commission begins Feb. 4. According to Lt. Col. Carla Leeseberg, chief of the 81st Medical Group Performance Improvement and Regulatory Compliance Department, the Joint Commission team will consist of three surveyors - a physician, nurse and facility engineer. She said The Joint Commission looks at how the medical group produces safe, high-quality patient care. "They will observe our people doing their work and interview them to ask them about the work they do," Leeseberg said. The Joint Commission was founded in 1951 and, according to its website, seeks to continuously improve health care for the public in collaboration with other stakeholders by evaluating more than 20,000 healthcare organizations in the United States and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. According to Col. Dana Venenga, 81st MDG medical center administrator, while civilian health-care organizations voluntarily pursue accreditation from the Joint Commission, it is essentially mandatory for Air Force hospitals. "The Joint Commission surveyors visit accredited hospitals a minimum of once every three years to evaluate standards compliance. This visit is called a survey, and since 2006, all surveys have been unannounced. (The Joint commission does provide seven days prior notice.) Joint Commission surveyors are highly-trained experts in their respective fields of expertise - physicians, nurses, administrators, clinical engineers, etc," Venenga said. The colonel noted, "The objective of the survey is not only to evaluate the hospital, but to provide education and guidance that will help the staff continue to improve the hospital's performance. The survey process evaluates actual care processes by tracing patients through the care, treatment and services they received." Venenga pointed out the Joint Commission standards focus on patient safety and quality of care and are updated regularly to reflect the rapid advances in health care and medicine. "Numbering more than 250, the standards address everything from patient rights and education, infection control, medication management and preventing medical errors, to how the hospital verifies its professional staff is qualified and competent, how it prepares for emergencies and how it collects data on its performance and uses that data to improve itself." Leeseberg indicated The Joint Commission will provide an outbrief to the 81st MDG executive staff Feb. 8 when the survey is complete.