Perinatal Care Certification

Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children’s Hospital have received Perinatal Care Certification from the Joint Commission – the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation.

Why is perinatal certification important?

Perinatal Care Certification means that our Family Birth Center and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit provide the highest standard of care for mothers and their babies – all under one roof.

Our hospitals are committed to achieving integrated, coordinated and patient-centered care for mothers and our littlest patients, who might need additional care in their first weeks or months of life.

Certification requirements

Both Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children’s underwent rigorous onsite reviews to assess compliance with perinatal care certification standards.

For the review, Joint Commission experts completed an independent evaluation of both patient care areas, as well as the following key requirements:

• Integrated, coordinated patient-centered care that starts with prenatal and continues through postpartum care
• Early identification of high-risk pregnancies and births
• Management of mothers’ and newborns’ risks at a level corresponding to the program’s capabilities
• Available patient education and information about perinatal care services

Ongoing focus on quality perinatal care

“Achieving Perinatal Care Certification recognizes an organization’s commitment to healthy mothers and healthy babies,” said Wendi Roberts, executive director of certification programs with The Joint Commission. “The certification gives providers an unparalleled advantage when it comes to preparing mothers for labor and delivery, while also being able to help them if complications arise.”

This certification demonstrates our ongoing focus on quality-improvement processes to improve care for mothers and their newborns.

Established in 2015, Perinatal Care Certification is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited hospitals.