Quality Improvement

The URMC’s Palliative Care Program has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval.

We Embody a Culture of Excellence

Our certification in Advanced Palliative Care from The Joint Commission—the gold standard in health care—means that our program voluntarily undergoes  a thorough independent evaluation by trained experts in the field every other year.

Confirming Our Care Delivery

The goal of the voluntary evaluation by The Joint Commission? To assess if we meet rigorous performance and continuous compliance standards for delivering exceptional patient-and- family-centered palliative care. We have continuously met these standards since the inception of the certification process in 2011—we were the very first academic medical center to achieve Advanced Certification in Palliative Care.  Our facility is honored to hold the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval®—an internationally recognized symbol of quality. Our program is modeled on the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th edition and strives to constantly improve our processes of care and care outcomes through our focus on quality improvement.

Our achievement confirms that we offer:

• A formal, organized inpatient program led by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in palliative care
• A special focus on patient and family engagement
• Processes that support the coordination of care and communication among all care settings and providers