The Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources Annual Conference Set for June 8-10 in Chicago

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL--(Marketwire - May 19, 2011) - Professor James Reason, whose seminal work on human error has shaped efforts to improve health care safety, will be the keynote speaker at the June 8-10 Joint Commission and Joint Commission Resources' Annual Conference on Quality and Patient Safety at the Hilton Chicago.

The 2011 conference, "Come Together - A Gathering of Leading Ideas in Quality and Safety," will offer health care leaders information on leadership and quality improvement initiatives, cost reduction strategies, and personal, professional and organizational safety. Professor Reason, the internationally known professor and author of Human Error and other books focusing on adverse events, will kick off the conference with "Human Factors in Patient Safety - Retrospect and Prospect." The opening day will conclude with Bassett Healthcare Network Chief Nursing Officer Connie Jastremski's discussion of using regulatory requirements to inspire innovation. Other key speakers will include Fred Lee, author of If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9½ Things You Would Do Differently; Jane Holl, M.D., M.P.P., Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, who will explore issues related to assessing and improving pediatric safety and quality of care through simulation; and Mark R. Chassin, M.D.,FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission, will speak on "The Challenge of High Reliability Healthcare." In this presentation he will review how the demands are increasing for health care organizations to eliminate preventable complications and provide extraordinarily safe environments for patients.

Two optional pre-conference workshops will be presented on the morning of June 8:

• Creating a Better Patient Experience: Joint Commission, CMS, Magnet and Baldrige Alignment. This program will provide participants with a side-by-side analysis of Joint Commission, CMS, Magnet and Baldrige requirements; an overview of how patients benefit from the alignment of these organizations; and information on how to build an infrastructure that supports implementation of alignment.
• SPC: Simple Performance Calculationsfor Health Care Improvement.
  As providers compete for limited health care economic resources, they must demonstrate to payers, purchasers, consumers and internal customers that they provide coordinated, efficient care and services that result in desirable outcomes and improved health, as well as patient satisfaction. This program is designed to meet the needs of health care administrators and providers wanting to learn more about how to apply statistical process control (SPC) tools to measure the success of efforts to improve processes and outcomes.

Cost of the national conference is $995 or discounted at $895 for registration by May 31. A discounted rate of $849 is also available for three participants from the same organization. Cost of pre-conference is $249, or $229 for registration by May 31. The discounted rate is not valid on previous registrations. To register to participate, please call the Joint Commission's Customer Service Center at 1.877.223.6866 or visit www.jcrinc.com.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner. Please visit our Web site at www.jcrinc.com.

To view this release in a media-rich format, go to: http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2011/joint_commission/jcr_annual_conference/index.html