Northside Cherokee is now the third Level III maternal care verified facility in Georgia, alongside Augusta University Medical Center and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. The Georgia hospital underwent an on-site review of the Joint Commission’s Maternal Levels of Care (MLC) Verification program on July 25 and July 26, Northside reported in a recent news release.
“This designation demonstrates our continued commitment to improve the quality of care for complex maternal medical conditions, obstetric complications and neonatal conditions in North Georgia,” Northside Cherokee chief nursing officer Beverly Hunt said in the release.
The Joint Commission certifies over 22,000 U.S. health care organizations as the largest accrediting body within the industry. Each level of maternal care is designated as a guideline to help ensure mothers and infants receive medical care at facilities appropriately equipped with the necessary personnel and resources for their level of risk, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The four levels of maternal care are based on publications from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 2023 guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
“The Joint Commission commends Northside Hospital Cherokee for being named a Level III maternal care verified facility and for its efforts to standardize maternal care and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality,” Deborah Ryan, MS, RN, interim executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations at The Joint Commission, said in the release. “The Maternal Levels of Care Verification program will help Northside Hospital Cherokee strengthen regionalized care for mothers and babies in its community.”
“The Department congratulates Northside Hospital Cherokee for this achievement and appreciates the contributions that you make to the health and well‐being of Georgia mothers,” Kathleen E. Toomey, MD, MPH, commissioner, Georgia DPH, told Northside in a letter to the hospital on Aug. 18.
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