POCATELLO — Doctors, nurses, support staff and administrators filled the lobby of Portneuf Medical Center Tuesday morning to hear PMC's Chief Executive Officer Dan Ordyna share the news that the hospital has been recognized by The Joint Commission as a top performer for 2013.

“We have been recognized by The Joint Commission as leading things nationally,” Ordyna said.

Ordyna said the status given PMC is the equivalent of receiving the hospital industry's “seal of good housekeeping.”

“We are the first hospital and the only one in Eastern Idaho to reach this designation,” Ordyna told his staff. “The community needs to know that when they come to Portneuf they're going to to receive world class care.”

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the United States. With on-site visits that last a week, the organization surveys hospital for accreditation every three years, according to PMC marketing director Brenda Stanley.

Medical staff president at PMC, Dr. Daniel Snell, said the process of achieving this accreditation status has been ongoing.

“It started years ago with creating a culture of safety and patient care,” Snell said. “We have people focused on one thing — that's patient safety.”

Now that PMC has been designated a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, it will be included in that organization's “Americas Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety” annual report.

PMC was singled out for four separate measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

Ordyna said the accomplishment was made possible because of the dedication of everyone who works at PMC.

“We have something fantastic here at Portneuf,” Ordyna said. “It takes a team effort to pull this off.”