The Joint Commission
Pre-eminent healthcare accreditation
The Joint Commission is an independent nonprofit organization that since 1951 has served as the healthcare industry’s pre-eminent accrediting body. Its focus is to improve healthcare for the public by evaluating the quality and safety of the care provided by healthcare organizations.
The Joint Commission’s certification process is rigorous and thorough. Certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality in healthcare and a commitment to meeting high performance standards.
Below are the Joint Commission certifications for UW Medicine hospitals and programs:
Harborview Medical Center
UW Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center at Harborview
The UW Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center at Harborview is home to the first Joint Commission certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in Washington State.
The Joint Commission awards “comprehensive” status only to those centers that have demonstrated the ability to:
- Provide advanced stroke care and therapies around the clock for all stroke patients including those with the most complex stroke conditions
- Participate in a rigorous on-site review with a thorough examination of the program by the Joint Commission
- Consistently meet or exceed quality patient care outcome standards
- Maintain the significant differences in resources, staff and training that are necessary for the treatment of complex stroke cases
- Maintain a robust stroke care quality and safety review program
- Actively participate in stroke research
Performance/quality reporting
Harborview is recognized with the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Award for Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes and Advanced Therapy Honor Roll.
To earn these performance awards, Harborview has met, and frequently exceeded, the following standards of care.
Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Award
Hospitals receiving Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for 2 consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period.
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll
Hospitals achieving Time to thrombolytic therapy ≤ 60 minutes in 85% or more of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV TNK (thrombolytics) to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.
Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll - Stroke
Hospitals that qualify for Silver level or higher achievement award in Get With The Guidelines – Stroke and achieve an Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score of ≥ 80%.
Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy
Door-to-device times in at least 50% of applicable patients within 90 minutes for direct arriving and within 60 minutes for transfers.
There are inherent risks of known complications for interventional stroke procedures. Some of these have target rates set by The Joint Commission.
Our annual complication rate for Cardiac Endarterectomy (CEA), Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS), Transcarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR), and Diagnostic Angiogram was 0 for the year 2025. Access our public reporting of Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) quality data at the American Heart Association website.
UW Medical Center - Montlake
Performance/quality reporting
Harborview is recognized with the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Award for Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.
To earn these performance awards, Harborview has met, and frequently exceeded, the following standards of care.
Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Award
Hospitals receiving Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for 2 consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period.
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll
Hospitals achieving Time to thrombolytic therapy ≤ 60 minutes in 85% or more of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV TNK (thrombolytics) to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.
Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll - Stroke
Hospitals that qualify for Silver level or higher achievement award in Get With The Guidelines – Stroke and achieve an Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score of ≥ 80%.