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Temple University Hospital Lung Center Awarded JCAHO Certification

Among First in the Nation to Earn Gold Seal of Approval in Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

The Lung Center of Temple University Hospital (TUH) has received national certification from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) as a Center for Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS). TUH is the first hospital in the City of Philadelphia, and among the first academic hospitals in the nation, to receive the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for LVRS.

“We are proud to be one of the first centers in the nation to be designated with this disease-specific care certification,” said Gerard J. Criner, MD, Director of the Division of Pulmonology & Critical Care Medicine at Temple University Hospital. “This certification formally recognizes the capabilities of the Temple Lung Center and provides a fine example of the quality of care Philadelphia residents can expect, regardless of the complexity of their disease.”

Joint Commission certification means a program complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care. To earn this distinction, Temple’s LVRS program underwent an extensive review of patient cases; compliance with professional standards; an assessment of caregivers’ qualifications; and interviews with staff, patients, and families.

The Temple Lung Center is at the forefront of new emphysema treatments. The east coast’s top recruiter for the National Emphysema Treatment Trial that studied LVRS, the Lung Center is also an active clinical site for the National Heart Lung Blood Institute’s COPD Clinical Research Network and the Pennsylvania Study of COPD Exacerbations. The Temple Lung Center is nationally renown for its superior clinical outcomes, especially in the specialized areas of mechanical ventilation, pulmonary fibrosis, COPD and respiratory failure. Most recently, the Temple Lung Center was ranked among the nation’s best respiratory-disease programs in the 2006 U.S. News & World Report ranking of America's best hospitals.

JCAHO evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1951, it is the nation's predominant accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission launched its Disease-Specific Care Certification program in 2002. It is the first program of its kind in the country to certify disease management programs.

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- By Jordan Reese

August 22, 2006

Search the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' (JCAHO) list of Disease-Certified Organizations

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