October 16, 2003

Health Service re-accredited

The Health Service has been re-accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) for the maximum three-year term, until July 2006.

The Health Service has been accredited by the AAAHC since 2000 and accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and its predecessor, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, since 1963.

“Accreditation underscores our long-standing commitment to providing the highest possible levels of quality care to the Northwestern community,” said Donald Misch, M.D., executive director of the Health Service. “We are pleased that our efforts have been recognized with this accreditation.”

The AAAHC last summer conducted an on-site, peer-based survey of the Health Service’s facilities and services. The survey evaluates compliance with a comprehensive set of quality assurance standards related to ambulatory health care.

The survey process also provides advice and guidance to the Health Service to meet the challenges of the accreditation standards and to provide for the continuous improvement of programs and services.

College health centers are not required to be accredited, but accreditation is an important indicator of a health care organization’s commitment to quality of patient care standards that typically exceed that of federal, state and local regulations.

The AAAHC accredits more than 1,300 ambulatory health care organizations in the United States.