Page 8 - Simi Valley Hospital | Your Health | Spring 2013

Three Simi Valley Hospital departments
received full accreditation last fall after
successfully completing requirements from
their respective surveying agencies.
Tip of the‘CAP.’ The College of American
Pathologists (CAP) granted its maximum
two-year accreditation to Simi Valley
Hospital’s Clinical Laboratory following an
unannounced survey visit on October 24.
A seven-member survey team combed
through documentation to ensure that
the various departments within the lab are
following strict procedures for the work
they do. In the end, the team found only
minor paperwork de ciencies.
“None of the de ciencies a ect patient
care,” said Simi Valley Hospital Clinical Lab
Director Dhobie Wong. “They were just
minor documentation issues that were
easily correctable.”
Two Simi Valley Hospital nurses have
earned certi cation in hospice and
palliative care, an area of health care that
focuses on keeping patients comfortable
and as pain-free as possible.
Kathy Sacco, director of Simi Valley
Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and
Cardiopulmonary Department, and ICU
charge nurse Kathy Anderson work in a
part of the hospital where those disciplines
are particularly pertinent. Hospice care
is speci cally for patients who are near
the end of life, while palliative care is
for patients who have a serious or life-
threatening illness.
Sacco explained that while part of
palliative care involves relieving physical
pain, it goes beyond just physical care.
Focusing on comfort. Simi Valley Hospital Intensive Care Unit nursing leaders Kathy
Anderson (left) and Kathy Sacco have earned certification in hospice and palliative care.
The CAP survey, Wong said, is a peer
inspection; the team that reviewed Simi
Valley Hospital’s lab was from a hospital
comparable in bed size and volume.
Simi Valley Hospital’s lab team also does
peer inspections.
Nuclear Medicine thumbs-up.
Simi Valley Hospital’s Nuclear Medicine
Department learned on October 3
that it had received a full three-year
accreditation from the American College
of Radiology (ACR). Earlier in the year,
the department forwarded a body of
documentation—imaging samples,
protocols, physicist reports and other
items—to the ACR for review.
At the ACR, board-certi ed physicians
and medical physicists conducted a
peer-review evaluation of the material.
The reviewers examined image quality,
personnel quali cations and adequacy
of equipment, as well as the Nuclear
Medicine Department’s quality control
procedures and quality assurance
programs. Simi Valley Hospital came
out on the “pass” side of the ACR’s
pass/fail system.
An ‘A’ from the MQSA. Also in
October, the Nancy Reagan Breast Center
successfully passed a yearly Mammography
Quality Standards Act (MQSA) inspection
from the California Department of Public
Health, Radiologic Health Branch.
Two inspectors tested equipment,
reviewed procedure logs, con rmed
continuing medical education status
for physicians and sta , and thoroughly
examined other aspects of the program
to ensure compliance with U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.
Surveys confirm quality of Simi Valley Hospital departments
Nurses earn
certification in
palliative care
“Palliative care approaches the patient
as a whole person—not just physical
issues but psychosocial and spiritual issues
as well,” she said. “Many of the patients
we have in the ICU on a daily basis are
appropriate for this type of care. We look at
what is important to the patient and what
might be causing stress for them, such as
wanting to get out of the hospital in time
to take part in a family birthday party or
other special event.”
Patient-centric care. While most
nursing disciplines focus on care for
patients with a speci c diagnosis or set of
diagnoses, palliative care is more about
an approach to care that applies to a
broad range of patients who are coping
with the effects of a serious or life-
threatening illness.
“We look at each patient and assess
what we can do—physically, mentally
and emotionally—to help them to be as
pain-free and comfortable as possible,”
Sacco said. “The patient is at the center of
care, and we are there as consultants and
advocates for them.”
8 q your health