| Roane General Hospital in Spencer has been accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare, becoming one of the few critical access hospitals in the country with such a designation.
Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bentz says only one out of five critical access hospitals across the nation choose to be surveyed by the Joint Commission. Only 21 percent score 98 or better. Roane General scored 98.
Bentz says the Spencer hospital is now one step closer to becoming the benchmark for rural health care in the state.
The goal of the Joint Commission is to improve safety and quality of care. It accredits about 9,000 hospitals and home-care organizations.
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