Did nurses and other non-physician members of the staff play a role in the quality improvement efforts?
NAZARETH: By nature of the design of the standards, JCI requires that all components of the organization contribute significantly to the accreditation effort. Our nurses and administrative support staff played the major role in ensuring that we got accreditation. In fact, more than 85 percent of the core group driving this effort were from the nursing and administration groups. There are specific standards applicable to nursing and an equal number for other administrative support areas. Of the three JCI auditors [who surveyed our hospital in August], one was a nurse, and the other was a nurse administrator. HMI WORLD: The monsoons that leveled India in July came just weeks before the JCI survey. How did the hospital respond when the monsoons occurred? Did you witness a notable difference in the way the hospital was able to function that was a result of the quality improvement? NAZARETH: Most of the city was flooded for three or four days, and our hospital was cut off from the rest of t
