Congratulations to the Family HealthCare Network in California for receiving two Gold Seals of Approval from The Joint Commission. Continuing to demonstrate the value of Community Health Centers, Family HealthCare Network received recognition for meeting the commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in ambulatory care organizations, and as a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH).

The Joint Commission is a non-profit that evaluates more than 20,000 health care organizations across the U.S. to encourage continuous improvement and provision of safe, effective, and quality health care. The commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care, accrediting health care providers that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services.

This is not the first time Family HealthCare Network has been lauded. In July of last year the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognized them as a Level-3 Patient Centered Medical Home—the highest level given by NCQA. With the two Gold Seals of Approval, Family HealthCare Network now becomes the only Community Health Center in Tulare and Kings County to receive recognition in both ambulatory care and PCMH. It also becomes one of only 45 health centers with this dual recognition in the U.S.

A patient centered medical home, sometimes referred to as a primary care medical home, is a model of care that provides comprehensive, coordinated, and patient-centered health care. PCMH encourages patients to play an integral role in their health care by facilitating a team-based approach to care that treats the whole person and builds the physician-patient relationship. You can read more on the Evolution of PCMH on our website here.