The Joint Commission Enterprise Launches HAI Portal

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL--(Marketwire - Apr 2, 2012) - Today, The Joint Commission enterprise launched a health care-associated infections (HAI) electronic portal that provides a wealth of HAI resources. The "HAI Portal" is a joint effort of The Joint Commission enterprise which includes the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, Joint Commission Resources, and Joint Commission International. The goal of the HAI Portal is to provide an integrated "kiosk" of HAI resources -- including those that are free and for purchase -- in one organized area that is accessible through any of the Joint Commission related websites.

In 2011, The Joint Commission enterprise identified a customer need to have all HAI related resources easily available to customers, such as those on hand hygiene, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), surgical site infections (SSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). These HAI resources are the foundation of the HAI Portal, which also includes other resources on influenza, staff education and vaccinations.

"Health care-associated infections are harmful for patients, costly for health care organizations and largely preventable. We hope that the easily accessible information on the HAI Portal will assist health care organizations, practitioners and caregivers to prevent HAIs in their organizations, practices and homes," says Jerod M. Loeb, Ph.D., executive vice president, Healthcare Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission.

The HAI Portal is designed to be easy to use. Resources are organized under three headings:

• HAI Topics (MDRO, CLABSI, SSI and others)
• Infection Prevention and Control (resources related to environment of care, hand hygiene and staff education)
• HAI Information related to specific Accreditation Programs (ambulatory care, behavioral health care, critical access hospital, hospital, home care, laboratory services and long term care)

The HAI Portal can be accessed at http://www.jointcommission.org/hai.aspx. For more information, contact Kelly Podgorny at kpodgorny@jointcommission.org.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others. The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

Established in 2009, the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare aims to transform American health care into a high-reliability industry that ensures patients receive the safest, highest quality care they expect and deserve. The Center's collaborators -- the nation's leading hospitals and health systems -- use a proven, systematic approach to analyze specific breakdowns in care and discover their underlying causes to develop targeted solutions for health care's most critical safety and quality problems. The Center is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, which shares the Center's proven effective solutions with its more than 19,000 accredited health care organizations. Learn more about the Center at http://www.centerfortransforminghealthcare.org.

Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our Web site at www.jcrinc.com.

Joint Commission International (JCI) was established in 1997 as a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a wholly controlled, not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Through international accreditation, consultation, publications and education programs, JCI extends The Joint Commission's mission worldwide by helping to improve the quality of patient care. JCI assists international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others in more than 90 countries.

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