BRMC & OGH Certified to ISO 9001 Quality Management System by DNV

Bradley J. Chapman, president, Jesse Barnes, LPN, quality, Stacy Green, infection prevention office coordinator, Jennifer Ruggles, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer, Julie Kenyon, BSN, RN, CIC, CPHQ, interim chief quality officer, and Quinn O'Brien, environmental services director, present that OGH received ISO 9001 certification.

BRADFORD, PA/OLEAN, NY - Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) and Olean General Hospital (OGH), Kaleida Health facilities, have been awarded by DNVfull certification to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System.

"Both Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital are dedicated to providing the safest and most effective healthcare services possible," says Bradley J. Chapman, president, BRMC/OGH. "ISO 9001 certification not only reflects that mission, but helps to empower it. The certificate is just a piece of paper, but the effort required to achieve it fundamentally transforms the way we do business. ISO 9001 is ideally suited to the complex, people-intensive challenges of running a hospital."

ISO 9001 is the most widely-accepted quality management system in use around the world, and is quickly gaining acceptance among US healthcare providers as a foundation for their quality and patient safety programs.

"Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital worked hard to achieve this certification, and they did so with unwavering commitment from their leadership to make their hospital the best it can be," says Kelly Proctor, President, Healthcare, Supply Chain & Product Assurance, DNV. "ISO 9001 certification is evidence that you're at the top of your game with a plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective."

ISO 9001 brings science to the art of caregiving; it helps to standardize processes around things that are proven to work, by the people doing the work, thus empowering frontline workers while creating an environment of predictability for the entire organization. The ultimate impact of ISO 9001 within hospitals is the reduction or elimination of variation, so that critical work processes are done consistently and the "best ideas" aren't held by one person or one department, but are ingrained in the organization itself.

Businesses that implement ISO 9001 do so for both the internal and external benefits. Internally it helps staff create clear and consistent processes of patient care, and ensure that progress is constantly being made toward specific quality objectives. Externally, it tells the public, as well as insurers and regulatory agencies, that the hospital is not only talking about quality, but is pursuing it with discipline and transparency.

"ISO 9001 is like sheet music for an orchestra; it gets everyone on the same page and helps us achieve our objectives," says Chapman.