Westerly - The Westerly Hospital has received full accreditation for three years from DNV Healthcare, a leading accreditor of U.S. hospitals.

The accreditation is based on an onsite quality and patient safety survey conducted by DNV Healthcare in September.

Authorized by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2008, DNV Healthcare’s hospital compliance program is the only one that integrates the quality management system model with Medicare's Conditions of Participation, the core requirements for hospitals set forth by the federal government.   

The Westerly Hospital did extremely well during the survey and expects to receive a higher level of quality designation than the standard. It will be the first hospital in the state to receive this level of quality distinction.

“While all hospitals must meet basic conditions for Medicare reimbursement, The Westerly Hospital has voluntarily chosen to pursue  DNV compliance, which means that our hospital is now surveyed yearly vs. every three years,” Dr. Christopher Lerach, the hospital’s chief transformation officer, said in a news release. “A DNV survey is more than just an audit.  It is part of the hospital’s strategic business plan to ensure rigorous quality standards in all departments, evaluate our patient care, and take measured steps to improve if necessary. This took the effort of the entire hospital to get to this point.”