Quality and Patient Safety

Healthcare Quality

Healthcare quality is the degree to which patient care and services increase the probability of desired patient outcomes and reduce the probability of undesired outcomes, given current knowledge. Within Noyes Health, we continuously evaluate and improve our processes and performance in order to: 1) provide optimal patient care; 2) maximize patient safety; and 3) exceed customers' expectations.

Provide Optimal Care

Providing optimal care and services means that clinical practice and decision-making, while meeting the needs of individual patients, is effective, reliable and safe. National, state, and professional organizations establish standards and requirements based on evidence of best practices. Noyes utilizes standards and “benchmarks” derived from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Institute for Healthcare Improvement, The Joint Commission, New York State Department of Health, and others. Increasingly, information about clinical care is publicly reported and used to compare one hospital's performance with other healthcare facilities. In a healthcare environment of pay-for-performance, clinical outcomes and process data is also used to determine hospital reimbursement by insurers and the government.

Maximize Patient Safety

Maximizing patient safety means reducing medical errors and minimizing the risk of undesired events. Noyes implements numerous evidence-based initiatives to reduce undesired consequences of care and achieve National Patient Safety Goals. These include improving the accuracy of patient identification, the effectiveness of communication among caregivers, and the safety of using medications. Other initiatives aim to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections including those associated with invasive procedures, multi-drug resistant organisms, and the use of central lines, urinary catheters and ventilators. Activities to reduce patient falls are also in place.

Exceed Customers' Expectations

Service excellence is exceeding customers' expectations constantly and consistently. Noyes actively surveys patients to learn their perceptions about all components of care including, but not limited to, communication with nurses and physicians, responsiveness of hospital staff, the hospital environment, patients' willingness to recommend the hospital to others, and their safety. Inpatient satisfaction scores are also publicly reported and used to compare how well one hospital meets its patients' needs compared with other hospitals.

Joint Commission Accreditation

UR Medicine | Noyes Health has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. 

A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated compliance with hospital standards related to several areas, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, and medication management. Surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

The Joint Commission’s hospital standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The standards are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help hospitals measure, assess and improve performance.