Quality & Safety Initiatives

DNV Quality Accreditation

All Samaritan hospitals and many of its clinics are accredited by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-approved accrediting organization. DNV visits Samaritan every year to ensure we are providing high quality care to our patients and meeting high health care standards. The accreditation process promotes high quality performance and continual improvement throughout our organization.

Special Projects

Samaritan’s commitment to quality care and patient safety includes system-wide projects, as well as hospital-specific initiatives.

Throughout the Samaritan system, we have a variety of programs to increase patient safety that include efforts to:
  • Reduce health care acquired infections
  • Use surgical safety checklists prior to surgery
  • Reduce patient falls
  • Reduce patient readmission
  • Good Catch Program to increase safety reporting
Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

Samaritan Albany General Hospital

  • Samaritan Albany General Hospital is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2020 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™.
  • Samaritan Albany General Hospital Five-Star Recipient for C-Section Delivery as rated by Healthgrades in 2020.
  • Five-star rating in 2019 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including specific recognition for overall readmission rates, patient experience, safety of care and timeliness of care
  • American Heart Association’s Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement and Target: Stroke Honor Role Elite Award
  • Recognized by Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) as a Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) Strong site
  • Samaritan Evergreen Hospice level 4 stare partner in the We Honor Veterans program through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
  • Samaritan Wound, Vein & Hyperbaric Medicine is nationally accredited by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society and is one of only seven wound centers in Oregon and Washington to achieve this accreditation
  • SAGH is home to Sarah’s Place, which is first SANE center in Oregon to provide a setting where sexual assault nurse examiners work with patients in a discreet environment separate from the emergency department

Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital

  • Four-star rating in 2019 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including specific recognition for exceeding national averages for measures in patient experience and readmission rates
  • Above state and national averages in caring for sepsis patients and cleanliness of hospital environment
  • American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines Stroke awards
  • Recognized as one of the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide to prevent poor outcomes in 14 serious patient event categories by Healthgrades
  • Critical Care unit received silver level Beacon Award of Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses

Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital

  • Congestive Heart Failure Program to reduce patient readmission
  • OB Emergency Preparedness Program
  • Fall Prevention Program
  • Four-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for patient satisfaction among Medicare and Medicaid recipients between June 2015 and June 2016
  • 2016 & 2017 Top Performer for MBQIP Emergency Department Transfer Communications

Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital

  • Establishment of the Center for Health Education
  • Five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for staff responsiveness to patient needs
  • American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines Stroke awards

Patient & Family Advisory Councils

Since 2015, Samaritan has engaged patients and family members through our Patient & Family Advisory Councils (PFAC) to improve quality, patient safety, and health outcomes. Our PFACs are a collaboration of solution-minded patient and family advisors with our clinical staff and leadership. We focus on transforming the culture towards patient centered care and deeply value the perspectives and expertise our patients and families provide. This is an incredible opportunity to partner with our local community.

We are actively recruiting new Patient and Family Advisors for our hospital and clinic PFACs. Community members who have been a patient or have had a family member receive care from one of Samaritan’s five hospitals are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested in becoming a patient/family advisor at your local hospital or clinic, complete the online application or email us at SHSServiceExcellence@samhealth.org. You can also download and submit a paper application to join a local council.

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TeamSTEPPS

Samaritan Health Services uses TeamSTEPPS to optimize team performance within our hospitals. The program emphasizes communication, leadership, situation monitoring and mutual support to create situations where it is as easy as possible to provide high quality care.