Grady Hospital gets passing marks

A national health care accrediting agency has provided Grady Memorial Hospital with a clean bill of health on safety and care issues almost a year after a critical report threatened the hospital’s access to federal money.

“Grady is fully accredited,” Kenneth Powers, media relations manager of the Joint Commission, said Thursday.

The commission’s surprise inspection on Tuesday followed months of intense efforts at Grady to resolve problems identified during an agency inspection last year.

The inspection last winter found problems with broken equipment, sanitation issues such as housekeeping and staff hand-washing, and documentation of patients, said Grady CEO Michael Young.

The Joint Commission is a private organization that accredits more than 15,000 organizations and programs, including clinical laboratories, hospitals and hospices, looking at safety and care issues. Grady’s accreditation also covers Crestview Health and Rehabilitation Center, the nursing home operated by Grady Health System.

Accreditation by the commission is critical in qualifying for Medicaid and Medicare funding. These government assistance programs provide a large portion of Grady’s annual budget, and Grady officials have said losing accreditation could result in the closing of the hospital.

Young, who began as CEO in September, said gaining accreditation is a major step forward.

“This shows Grady is back on track to do what we do — to take care of patients and to take care of them well,” Young said.

Grady officials acknowledged that the hospital still has numerous issues with outdated equipment, long waits for services and money problems. Those issues are being addressed as money begins to flow in from a $200 million pledge from the Woodruff Foundation, made when the health system came under management of a private, nonprofit governing board earlier this year. The money is to be paid over four years.

Young said $20 million in state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment has been bought. The first major installation will be a cardiac catheterization laboratory to begin operation in January.

Grady, which serves as metro Atlanta’s safety net for the poor and its major trauma center, had been placed on a conditional status by the Joint Commission, meaning its accreditation was at risk.

Grady hired experts to help resolve the problems and held practice inspections in preparation for the commission’s visit.

Young said the majority of the problems identified by the commission pertained to administrative and documentation issues.