The next time a patient receives laboratory, pathology or respiratory services from the College Station Medical Center, they will have the added assurance of knowing these departments meet the highest standards in the healthcare industry.

By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for healthcare quality and safety, the College Station Medical Center’s Laboratory, Pathology and Respiratory departments have earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™.

"We continually strive to improve the quality of our services, and meeting The Joint Commission's rigorous national standards is an important recognition of our efforts," says Carol Bode, College Station Medical Center Quality Management Regulatory Compliance Director.

The Joint Commission evaluated the laboratory's performance in complying with nearly 700 standards related to quality control, safety, infection control, leadership, management of human resources, management of information, ongoing performance improvement activities and other issues.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation's health care through voluntary accreditation.

"The accreditation process helps promote continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in health care organizations," says Gina Zimmermann, M.S., Senior Executive Director, The Joint Commission. "Achieving accreditation demonstrates the Med’s commitment to providing high quality and safe services."

Bode says efforts to improve don't stop when The Joint Commission survey is over. "Meeting the standards and achieving excellence is a continuous process," she says. "No matter how well we did today, we continue to strive to do better tomorrow."