University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center Awarded Palliative Care Certification from The Joint Commission

Glen Burnie Hospital Recently Opened A Dedicated Palliative Care Unit

GLEN BURNIE, Md. (Aug. 8, 2022) – The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Palliative Care Certification.

Palliative care addresses a patient's physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs, and facilitates patient autonomy, access to information and choice. The Joint Commission's certification recognizes UM BWMC's efforts to provide patient and family-centered care, and to optimize the quality of life for adult and pediatric patients with serious illnesses.

"Earning The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Palliative Care Certification is an exceptional accomplishment," said Elizabeth Grady, DO, an internist and medical director of the palliative care department at UM BWMC. "We are so grateful for the support that our team has received from across the hospital and the organization. This certification reflects the dedication and hard work of our outstanding team, who always put the needs of our patients first when diagnosing and developing treatment plans."

UM BWMC underwent a rigorous evaluation, which included an onsite review of the hospital's new palliative care unit. The palliative care team worked with senior hospital leaders in the winter of 2022 to designate a specific space within the hospital where patients with severe disease progression could receive specialized care and treatment services as well as additional support. Patients treated by the palliative care team receive individualized care plans that included instructions for how to manage pain and other symptoms. Team members also had access to equipment needed to managed complex treatment plans.

"We are honored to be recognized by The Joint Commission for our medical excellence in palliative care," said Neel Vibhakar, MD, MBA, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at UM BWMC. "We pride ourselves on consistently delivering high-quality care to all patients along their care journey. This recognition confirms our commitment and dedication, and gives our patients and their families assurance that their care meets the highest standards."

The Joint Commission also evaluated the palliative care team on how they administered care to patients with different care needs and across multiple disciplines to offer consistent quality care. The team was also evaluated on how they supported patients and their families with resources and educational materials.

"Palliative Care Certification recognizes health care organizations commitment to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care," said Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, Chief Operating Officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and Chief Nursing Executive at The Joint Commission. "We commend UM BWMC for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for palliative care patients."

Learn more about UM BWMC's palliative care offerings.

About the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center

The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) is an acute-care facility that is part of the University of Maryland Medical System. It is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland and has 314 beds and more than 3,100 team members. It also has 1,200 medical providers on staff in over 50 specialties. For more information, visit www.umbwmc.org.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state's future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System's anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.