<em>Photo above: A patient has her knee examined at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Photo provided.</em>

Following an extensive onsite review this summer by a Joint Commission surveyor, Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) once again was awarded disease-specific certification for hip and knee replacement.&nbsp;

The hospital’s Joint Replacement Center first earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval in 2015. To maintain certification, BMH has had to continuously provide data on performance measures used to monitor the effectiveness and quality of its program.

“The certification gives the community an objective assessment of clinical excellence,” said Shawna Doran, vice president of Quality &amp; Risk for BMH. “Patients can be assured of the quality and safety of our program.”

BMH submitted two years of data to The Joint Commission prior to the on-site evaluation by a specialist in orthopaedics. During the all-day visit, the surveyor assessed Beaufort Memorial’s clinical practice guidelines and performance measures to ensure compliance with national evidence-based standards.&nbsp;

“It takes months to years to prepare for certification,” said Andrea Sadler, program coordinator for Beaufort Memorial’s Joint Replacement Center. “In addition to the ongoing data, we need to provide The Joint Commission, it requires extensive education and training of the staff involved in the care of patients.”&nbsp;

Beaufort Memorial is one of only 13 healthcare facilities in the state to receive disease-specific care certification in knee and hip replacement from The Joint Commission, the premier health care accrediting body in the nation. The certification is awarded for a two-year period.&nbsp;

For more information on Beaufort Memorial’s Joint Replacement Center, visit www.beaufortmemorial.org or call 843-522-7435.