Improvement in services is considered to be an ongoing process for this agency. In August, 2002, we successfully completed our fourth Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) survey. Our performance measurements for this year are:

• Reduction in hospitalizations
• Safety in transferring
• Improvement in Dyspnea
• Improvement in Pain Management
• Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections
• Improvement in management of oral medications

Patient and staff education are both extremely important components of our success in achieving both of these goals. We actively teach and reinforce techniques in these areas, in addition to any others which are identified on each patient’s assessment.