Sky Lakes Medical Center Earns International Accreditation

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Sky Lakes Medical Center recently received a three-year accreditation following an inspection by an international organization and based on strict quality standards.

A three-member team from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), headquartered in Oslo, Norway, inspected Sky Lakes in December and certified the accreditation January 29..

DNV is the first and only Center for Medicare Services-approved hospital accreditation service that surveys annually and integrates the ISO 9001 quality methods, which are considered to be among the most demanding standards for healthcare performance.

“All of us at Sky Lakes are very proud to have the DNV accreditation,” said Sky Lakes CEO Paul Stewart. “DNV holds hospitals to the highest standards of safety and performance, and are confident that working with DNV will help make us an even stronger organization.”

Of the 94 hospitals nationwide that have this accreditation, only a handful are in the western United States, he added.

The medical center’s accreditation from DNV requires ongoing compliance with the DNV healthcare accreditation process including annual inspections. DNV uses a collaborative approach that encourages innovation to achieve and maintain safety and performance goals.

“Working together with DNV will help us as we continue our journey of excellence by leveraging the skills and experience that already exist at Sky Lakes,” Stewart said. “With the assistance of DNV, our intent is to add to this current accreditation and become ISO 9001 Certified within three years. The accreditation process gives the medical center a strategic business advantange based on quality.”

The ISO 9001 standards, a quality-management system maintained by the International Organization for Standardization, are widely used in manufacturing. DNV helps organizations extend them into healthcare.

In addition to taking a best-practices approach to hospital surveys, DNV's accreditation framework fits well with the goals for patient safety and clinical quality already in place at Sky Lakes.

The Klamath Falls hospital has been accredited by an independent organization since 1968. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accredited the then-Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital just three years after it opened.

Sky Lakes Medical Center is a community-benefit, internationally accredited acute-care hospital licensed for 176 beds. The corporate family also includes the Cancer Treatment Center, the Center for Total Joint Care, Outpatient Rehab Services, Sky Lakes Home Health, Sky Lakes Diabetes Services, and specialty physician practices.