Joint Commission International Achieves Accreditation ...( OAK BROOK Ill. Jan. 3 -- Joint C...),Health

OAK BROOK, Ill., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Joint Commission International (JCI) today announced its accreditation by the International Society for Quality in Health Care. JCI is a division of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR), a private, not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.

JCI is a global leader in health care accreditation and since 1999 has accredited more than 140 hospitals in 27 countries. This external endorsement by ISQua is a milestone achievement that demonstrates the quality of JCI's accreditation services.

ISQua, a non-profit, independent organization with members in more than 70 countries, is known as the accreditor of accrediting bodies. Accreditation by ISQua provides assurance that the standards, training and processes used by JCI to survey the performance of health care organizations meet the highest international benchmarks for accreditation entities.

"I'm proud to announce JCI's accreditation by ISQua. It demonstrates the dedication and commitment of our Board, staff and surveyors to improving health care quality and safety through the process of accreditation and it allows us to provide external validation of this commitment to our clients," says Karen H. Timmons, CEO, Joint Commission International.

Joint Commission International chose to pursue ISQua accreditation because:

-- It provides confidence and credibility through formal worldwide recognition that an organization meets international standards specifically developed and tested for health care external evaluation bodies, and

-- It involves an impartial and independent review system.

Accreditation by ISQua was a two-part process that touched upon every aspect of how JCI operates. The first part of the process, completed in 2005, involved applying for accreditation, an evaluation of JCI's accreditation standards based on a set of principles created by ISQua, and a self-evaluation by JCI of its com
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