(St. Louis) -- Tenet Saint Louis’ Des Peres Hospital recently earned a three-year accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP). Accreditation by HFAP demonstrates that a health care facility has met the standards set forth by HFAP to provide high quality care and compliance with governmental regulations.
HFAP, recognized nationally by the federal government, state governments, insurance carriers and managed care organizations, has been accrediting health care facilities for more than 50 years. Dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of patient care, HFAP is one of only two national voluntary accreditation programs with "Deeming Authority" from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly Health Care Financing Administration, of the Federal Government to accredit hospitals and their clinical laboratories.
"Des Peres Hospital should be recognized for its commitment to providing quality care to its community," says George A. Reuther, AOA Director of the Division of Health care Facilities Accreditation. "Accreditation is an important achievement for a health care facility and one that Des Peres Hospital should be proud of."
Des Peres Hospital is a 167-bed acute care community hospital in west St. Louis County headed by Chief Executive Officer Michele Meyer. It received accreditation after surveyors measured the facility against a benchmark of hundreds of recognized standards relating to each area and function of the facility.
"We are pleased to have earned accreditation by HFAP," said Meyer. "Des Peres Hospital seeks voluntary accreditation because we are committed to providing our patients with the highest quality of care, and being accredited by HFAP challenges us to continue to maintain a high level of care."
Tenet Saint Louis is a 1,584-licensed bed system of academic and community hospitals and schools of nursing headed by Phillip S. Schaengold, J.D., Tenet corporate vice president, operations and Tenet Saint Louis CEO. Its facilities include Des Peres Hospital, Forest Park Hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital, SouthPointe Hospital and St. Alexius Hospital.
The health system employs approximately 5,500 people and cares for patients from eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and beyond. Tenet Saint Louis is the fourth-largest employer in the city of St. Louis. Current Tenet Saint Louis hospitals combined provided care to more residents of the city of St. Louis who were hospitalized from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000 than any other health system.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates 114 acute care hospitals with 27,851beds and numerous related health care services. Tenet and its subsidiaries employ approximately 115,000 people serving communities in 16 states. Tenet’s name reflects its core business philosophy: the importance of shared values among partners - including employees, physicians, insurers and communities - in providing a full spectrum of health care. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com <http://www.tenethealth.com>.
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