United Medical Center has regained its national accreditation, 13 months after the problem-plagued facility formerly known as Greater Southeast Community Hospital had lost it amid management and service problems.
D.C. Councilman David Catania on Thursday called the accreditation “an extraordinary achievement” given the condition of the hospital in December 2007, just after it was purchased by Specialty Hospitals of America in a deal subsidized by the city.
According to Catania, the re-accreditation will “rebuild trust that was lost under prior ownership and make it easier for private pay insurers to return,” increasing the hospital’s chances of long-term success.
Under its previous owners, Envision Healthcare Corp., Greater Southeast had badly deteriorated, including medical equipment that didn’t work and serious understaffing of the city’s only hospital east of the Anacostia River.
Mary Ellen Esser, the hospital’s vice president of compliance and quality control under the new management, said Thursday that there had been “no upkeep or regular maintenance,” resulting in “life safety issues with the building.”
The hospital’s new management undertook wide-ranging upgrades, including replacing radiological and CAT scan imaging equipment; improving security; replacing light fixtures; cleaning the campus; and installing a new roof. United applied for re-accreditation last July then awaited the Joint Commission’s unannounced visit.
The Commission, an independent organization that accredits hospitals nationwide, performed a detailed spot inspection of the facility over four days last month, evaluating the hospital’s operations, from tracking patient records to examining medical equipment.
The D.C. Council approved Greater Southeast’s sale to Specialty despite concerns among some officials about the company’s financial health. D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi warned that the deal, which committed $79 million of the city’s tobacco settlement funds, would put the city in a dangerous economic position if the company failed.
Wednesday’s news of the accreditation was a victory for the new management; now the facility must work to maintain it. Esser called the accreditation the “first step in an ongoing process of improvement.”
