The original article can be found in: Virgin Islands Daily News BY JOY BLACKBURN
ST. CROIX – Luis Hospital announced that its laboratory has been re-accredited by the Joint Commission, the nation’s top credentialing agency for hospitals.
The hospital itself remains under the direct supervision of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and continues to operate under a systems improvement agreement aimed at bringing conditions up to CMS standards.
Once the agreement with CMS was signed in November 2011 and the hospital was under the direct oversight of the federal regulatory agency, Luis officials chose not to seek hospital-wide re-accreditation under the Joint Commission, said Luis Hospital spokeswoman Pamela Sanes.
However, the hospital’s laboratory is accredited separately and has remained accredited through the Joint Commission, Sanes said. The Joint Commission is an independent non-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S.
A press release the hospital issued Friday quoted Administrative Director of Laboratory Services Leonore Cedeno saying she is happy with the re-accreditation decision.
“I am very pleased and extremely happy with all of the assistance that was given to my department to ensure that the lab was successful in attaining re-accreditation,” Cedeno said. “This was a team effort and everyone did their part.”
Sanes said there was a Joint Commission laboratory survey in May, and the hospital was given an opportunity to make corrections as needed.
Inspectors then revisited the hospital in September, according to Sanes.
According to the statement, Luis Hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kendall Griffith had received correspondence from the Joint Commission dated Sept. 25 saying that the lab is accredited.
