Accredited Health Care
Portneuf Medical Center maintains accreditation from The Joint Commission, which supports our dedication in delivering World Class Care, Every patient, Every time. If your concerns cannot be resolved by the hospital, you have the right to contact The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring directly. Patient safety event reports can be submitted anonymously and confidentially; however, those who provide their name and contact information allow The Joint Commission to contact them if necessary and to confirm how the report is handled. Reports of patient safety events to The Joint Commission must include the health care organization’s name, street address, city and state.
How to report patient safety concerns:
Toll free: 800-994-6610
Mailing Address:
One Renaissance Bvld.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Complaints Website: https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/patient-safety-topics/report-a-patient-safety-concern-or-complaint/
Patients may also contact the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Bureau of Facility Standards at 208-334-6626 or PO Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0036. For more information visit healthandwelfare.idaho.gov.
We are committed to the highest quality of care, and we can prove it! As a world-leading accreditation body whose mission is to enable and affirm the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all, The Joint Commission is committed to supporting the development and continual improvement of healthcare quality and patient safety in healthcare organizations. Our partnership with The Joint Commission allows our organization to focus on what really matters; our patients, our community, and you.
PMC is also accredited and recognized by leading clinical organizations, including:
Endoscopy ASC – Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare AAAHC is the leader in ambulatory health care accreditation with more than 6,100 organizations accredited and advocates for the provision of high quality health care through the development and adoption of nationally-recognized standards. Having the AAAHC Certificate of Accreditation demonstrates the commitment of Portneuf’s Endoscopy Center to provide safe, high quality services to its patients.
Hyperbarics – Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Society The UHMS clinical hyperbaric medicine facility accreditation program recognizes hyperbaric facilities that demonstrate their commitment to patient care and facility safety.
STS National Database Participant – The Society of Thoracic Surgeons The STS National Database is an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety, with the corollary potential to be a powerful tool for clinical research. It is considered the gold standard for specialty outcomes databases. By participating in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery, General Thoracic Surgery, and/or Congenital Heart Surgery Databases, PMC’s cardiothoracic surgeons are committing to improving the quality of care that their patients receive.
Trauma – Level II – American College of Surgeons The designation of trauma facilities is a geopolitical process by which empowered entities, government or otherwise, are authorized to designate. The ACS does not designate trauma centers; instead, it verifies the presence of the resources listed in Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient.
Accolades:
- PMC’s Hyperbaric Center received national accreditation in 2016
- Portneuf Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center Excellence Award
- Portneuf Medical Center received CMS 5 star in 2020
Patient Safety & Quality Efforts Reported to the Community
At Portneuf Medical Center, we are committed to delivering the highest quality of care. In an effort to demonstrate this commitment, we report efforts to improve patient safety and quality. And example of an improvement project is below.
What is a CAUTI?
“A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection involving any part of the urinary system, including urethra, bladder, ureters, and kidney. UTIs are the most common type of healthcare-associated infection reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Among UTIs acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are associated with a urinary catheter, which is a tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine. Between 15-25% of hospitalized patients receive urinary catheters during their hospital stay. The most important risk factor for developing a catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI) is prolonged use of the urinary catheter. Therefore, catheters should only be used for appropriate indications and should be removed as soon as they are no longer needed.” https://www.cdc.gov.
Impact of catheter associated urinary tract infections include:
Morbidity
- CAUTI makes up 13% of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) reported, comprising an estimated 93,300 infections annually.
- CAUTIs lead to longer length of hospital stay.
- CAUTI is the leading cause of secondary bloodstream infection.
- Studies have found a strong correlation between catheter use greater than six days and the development of a CAUTI.
Mortality
- An estimated 13,000 deaths (mortality rate 2.3%) are attributed to UTIs annually in the United States.
- The mortality rate increases to approximately 10% when the patient also has a secondary bacteremia (bloodstream infection as a result of the UTI). https://www.vdh.virginia.gov.
Project overview:
Baseline data for this improvement project: Portneuf Medical Center identified nine (9) Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) reported in 2023 and set a goal to reduce the CAUTI infection rate to 0.650 or less from the observed rate of 1.114 in 2024.
To accomplish this, a multidisciplinary team was assembled to review performance data, review specific cases, identify process opportunities, and develop a plan of action for sustained improvement. The team, comprised of nurses, nursing educators, pharmacists, department leaders, physicians, quality team members, as well as infection preventionists, used the hospital’s Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) improvement model to evaluate and to drive necessary changes to the care/maintenance of patients with indwelling foley catheters. The improvement actions identified by this task force included increasing the use of external devices, i.e.: PureWick and condom catheters, as a less invasive means of urinary management, when appropriate for the patient’s condition. This was complimented by implementation of a nurse driven protocol to remove indwelling foley catheters when criteria is met. These improvement efforts were initiated to enhance existing processes which included a daily review of all indwelling foley catheters by appropriate nursing leadership, discussion of foley catheter utilization in the hospital’s safety huddle, and the standard work expectations of bedside clinical personnel in performing perineal and foley catheter care. Together, these actions have proved to be effective. By the end of 2024, Portneuf Medical Center will reach a milestone as having gone 6 consecutive months without a CAUTI infection. Baseline and performance data may be observed in the following graph:
Portneuf Medical Center is committed to the safety of our patients and takes pride in the united sense of teamwork that makes improvement initiatives successful.