Certifications, Patient Safety and Dedication to the Highest Standards of Care
March 26, 2024
At Aiken Regional Medical Centers, our team is dedicated to patient safety and providing high-quality healthcare services, many of which are recognized on a state, regional or national level. Achieving these certifications demonstrates the hospital’s commitment to the highest national standards for safe, high-quality patient care, according to The Joint Commission.
The hospital has been awarded several distinctions for their consistency in providing high-quality care. These include recognitions as a certified Primary Heart Attack Center (PHAC) and Advanced Heart Failure certification by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association® (AHA), and as a Certified Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and the American Stroke Association® (ASA) / AHA.
See our awards and accreditations →
Delivering compassionate, quality care to our community
“Patient safety is a top priority and the foundation of all that we do at Aiken Regional,” says Matt Merrifield, CEO of Aiken Regional Medical Centers. “We’re dedicated to continuing to highlight the importance of safety within our hospital and everyday practice.”
“Our goal is to provide compassionate and dedicated care to everyone who walks through our doors. Assuring the delivery of care that is based on national standards helps to provide our patients the best possible chance of positive outcomes,” says Katheryn Rasar, RN, manager of disease-specific programs at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. “Multiple data points and measures are tracked during and after a clinical event. And our team meets regularly to review data, protocols and goals that will continue to optimize our delivery of high-quality care,” adds Rasar.
“At Aiken Regional, best-practice protocols are maintained with continued education through national and international seminars,” says Jose Cardenas, MD, a neurologist with Aiken Physicians Alliance, who is also on staff at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
Rasar adds that the core teams for stroke, heart attack and heart failure continually bring best-practice protocols from educational seminars back to Aiken Regional. Locally, team members are constantly educated, assessed and monitored. Clinical staff certifications are tracked and always kept up to date.
Training for bedside staff includes regular “huddle notes” to review updates in care standards. Patients are separated into specialized units according to diagnoses for continuity of care by professionals specifically trained to care for those patients. For example, as a Primary Stroke Center, Aiken Regional has a unit designated only for stroke patients.
“Aiken Regional is the hospital that our community comes to for their family’s healthcare needs,” says Dr. Cardenas. “As such, we are invested in providing the highest quality of healthcare to our community and our loved ones.”
“I am continually amazed at the connection and compassion each of our team members demonstrates toward our patients and their loved ones,” says Cathy Sumner, MSN, BSN, RN, RNC-MNN, Chief Nursing Officer at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. “It’s an honor to work with such a dedicated group of healthcare providers.”