Willow Creek Women’s Hospital receives Joint Commission certification

Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson announced Friday (June 18) it’s the first in the state to earn the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Perinatal Care Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a healthcare organization’s commitment to providing safe, quality patient care, according to a news release.

The certification recognizes Willow Creek Women’s Hospital’s efforts to achieve integrated, coordinated, patient-centered care for clinically uncomplicated pregnancies and births, the release shows. The certification uses standards, guidelines and The Joint Commission’s perinatal care core performance measures for managing and monitoring aspects of perinatal care that are critical to improve and maintain the health of newborns and their mothers.

At the end of May, a team of Joint Commission reviewers completed an onsite review at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital. The reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards including providing alternatives to primary cesarean sections, supporting options for birth including low-intervention birthing experience and interdisciplinary team meetings for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) infants. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“Perinatal Care Certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” said Mark Pelletier, chief operating officer, accreditation and certification operations, and chief nursing executive for The Joint Commission. “We commend Willow Creek Women’s Hospital for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for newborns and their mothers.”

Juli McWhorter, chief administrative officer of Willow Creek Women’s Hospital, said “this is validation of the hard work and dedication of our team to providing excellent, high-quality care to all of our families and especially to the women who entrust us with the care of their babies before, during and after birth. We could not have earned this recognition and achieved this milestone without a total team effort.”

Willow Creek Women’s Hospital is a 64-bed, full-service facility dedicated to women’s health needs, including obstetrics, a Level III NICU, hidden scar breast surgery and 3D mammography. The hospital is affiliated with Northwest Health, which comprises five hospitals with 487 beds and a combined medical staff of more than 900 physicians and over 2,400 employees.