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Joint Commission Enterprise names Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, chief operating officer. Dr. Grubbs first nurse to serve as COO of Joint Commission Enterprise in organization's 75-year history. OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Joint Commission today announced the appointment of Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, as chief operating officer. A nurse by training and a healthcare operator by experience, Dr. Grubbs brings a unique perspective shaped by years of caring for patients, leading care teams and overseeing complex healthcare operations. His appointment demonstrates the established influence of nursing leadership in shaping healthcare policy, quality, safety and organizational performance. Dr. Grubbs, whose career began in a Tennessee emergency department, has spent more than two decades helping healthcare organizations advance patient safety, improve quality, and drive operational excellence. He will succeed James Merlino, MD, who was recently named Joint Commission's eighth president and CEO, effective January 1, 2027. Dr. Grubbs' appointment marks the first time a nurse has been named chief operating officer of Joint Commission Enterprise. "Ken brings critical operational experience, but equally important, he leads with a nurse's perspective," said James Merlino, MD, chief operating officer, Joint Commission. "In making this appointment, I wanted to ensure our leadership reflects the realities of patient care. Nurses are at the center of healthcare delivery and among our most important partners, and Ken's experience and perspective will help keep us closely connected to the organizations and communities we serve." Dr. Grubbs' career has been built at the intersection of clinical operations, patient safety, quality, regulatory compliance, large-scale execution, and enterprise transformation. Unlike operations leaders who come up solely through finance or administration, Grubbs' foundation is in frontline care, which gives him credibility with clinicians while also having decades of experience leading complex systems and change initiatives. In addition to having served as a frontline nurse, Dr. Grubbs has held leadership roles in emergency services and medical-surgical intensive care. That frontline clinical experience gave him firsthand insight into how care is actually delivered, the challenges faced by caregivers, and the operational realities that affect patient outcomes every day. Rather than viewing operations through a purely administrative lens, he developed an understanding of healthcare systems starting at the bedside. Dr. Grubb's career then evolved into patient safety, quality, and operational improvement leadership. At HCA Healthcare, he served in several progressively larger leadership positions, including patient safety specialist, director of quality standards, and ultimately vice president of regulatory and accreditation services. In those roles, he was responsible for supporting regulatory compliance, survey readiness, quality management, clinical performance improvement, and risk mitigation across one of the nation's largest health systems. He helped develop programs that improved performance, strengthened accountability, and supported standardization across a highly complex enterprise. Before his senior leadership roles at HCA, Dr. Grubbs also served as assistant vice president of programs at the National Patient Safety Foundation, where he led the development of patient safety tools and resources for healthcare organizations nationwide. That experience broadened his perspective beyond a single health system and exposed him to national quality and safety challenges, improvement methodologies, and healthcare leadership best practices. While with the Foundation, Dr. Grubbs also completed a fellowship in patient safety which complemented his management and nursing skills. Today, as chief nursing executive and executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations at Joint Commission, Dr. Grubbs oversees one of the most complex operational portfolios in healthcare accreditation. His responsibilities include accreditation and certification activities for more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs, survey operations, customer account management, eligibility and application processes, federal deeming compliance, accreditation policy development, surveyor education, survey technology, and the ongoing refinement of the accreditation process itself. "I've known Ken for more than 20 years and I could not be more proud of his accomplishments," said Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO, Joint Commission. "This appointment not only reflects Ken's exceptional leadership experience across healthcare delivery, accreditation and performance improvement, but also highlights the vital role nurses play in driving innovation, organizational performance and better outcomes for patients nationwide," In addition to serving as chief operating officer, Dr. Grubbs will continue in his role as chief nursing executive and will continue to lead accreditation and certification. He will assume his COO responsibilities on January 1, 2027. About Joint Commission Joint Commission enables and affirms the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all. Founded in 1951, it is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare, evaluating more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs across the United States. As an independent, nonprofit organization, Joint Commission inspires healthcare organizations across all settings to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.

Joint Commission International honors healthcare organizations and National Health authorities with inaugural Global Patient Safety Awards. OAK BROOK TERRACE, Ill., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Joint Commission International (JCI) recognized the winners of the inaugural Global Patient Safety Awards today at UNIFY 2026(TM): Convening for Quality, Joint Commission's annual, flagship conference that brings together global healthcare leaders for two days of discussions focused on the future of healthcare and patient safety. The Global Patient Safety Awards were created to stimulate global knowledge sharing and learning by recognizing healthcare organizations and national health authorities whose innovative approaches are advancing safer, higher quality patient care. In its first year, the program attracted submissions from over 250 healthcare organizations and national health authorities across 32 countries from different regions. Award-winning applications were selected through a rigorous review process led by an international panel of both internal JCI and external patient safety experts, who evaluated the initiatives for innovation, effectiveness, scalability, sustainability, and transferability. "The first cohort of Global Patient Safety Award winners exemplify what is possible when healthcare organizations and national health authorities' pair bold leadership with dedication to measurable improvement," said Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO, Joint Commission Enterprise. "Their work demonstrates that safer, higher-quality care is achievable across diverse settings and resource environments, and that proven practices, when shared, can accelerate progress for safer patient care and healthcare systems around the world. Congratulations to the honorees - by sharing their accomplishments, we hope to extend the impact of their work, inspiring, concerted action towards elevating healthcare quality and safety for patients and healthcare systems worldwide." "Every day, international healthcare organizations and health authorities around the world are finding new, innovative ways to enhance safety for patients and healthcare workers alike," said Dr. Neelam Dhingra, Vice President and Chief Global Patient Safety Officer, Joint Commission International. "These awards recognize those that are creating successful models which others can learn from and replicate in their own countries and communities. This important work demonstrates that meaningful improvements in patient safety are possible across every healthcare setting." The 2026 Global Patient Safety Award Winners are: National Health Authority Category The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Emirates Health Services is the recipient of the Global Patient Safety Award - National Health Authority, recognized for its innovative application of artificial intelligence in medical imaging across multiple clinical areas, including breast cancer screening, tuberculosis screening, stroke detection, osteoporosis identification, and fracture assessment under the program "The Future of Medical Imaging: Detection to Prediction." The initiative significantly reduced diagnostic turnaround times while strengthening clinical decision-making and patient outcomes through advanced predictive technologies and robust governance frameworks. Healthcare Organization Category King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is one of the recipients of a Global Patient Safety Award - Healthcare Organization for developing Paramedic STEP: Safe Transport Evaluation Protocol for High-risk Care Transitions. STEP is a practical and highly adaptable approach designed to improve patient safety during care transitions. The initiative reframes patient transportation, elevating it from a logistical function to a critical patient safety intervention. By empowering paramedics to serve as a final safety checkpoint before patient transfers, the program helped reduce patient harm for high-risk transfers, decrease emergency department returns, and lower readmission rates. Since implementation, STEP has screened more than 1,200 patients. KK Women's and Children's Hospital of Singapore is a recipient of a Global Patient Safety Award - Healthcare Organization for its "From Silence to Safety: A Decade-Long Systems Transformation of Patient Safety Culture" initiative that resulted in sustained, organization-wide transformation in patient safety culture over more than a decade. Through leadership engagement, workforce empowerment, and systems-based improvements, the hospital significantly enhanced communication openness, psychological safety, and non-punitive responses to error while creating a model that has influenced healthcare organizations across Singapore's health system. Mafraq Comprehensive Health Center in Jordan is a recipient of a Global Patient Safety Award - Healthcare Organization for the "Advancing Early Breast Cancer Detection" program, which focused on improving access to early breast cancer detection and preventive care especially in rural and underserved populations in the country. The initiative utilized structured diagnostic processes to support consistent and reliable screening quality, ultimately reducing delays in diagnosis, increasing access for underserved women, and creating earlier opportunities to identify breast cancer when treatment is more effective. In addition to attending the annual UNIFY conference to share more about their efforts, the awardees will be recognized through JCI communications and future knowledge-sharing opportunities designed to accelerate learning across the international healthcare community. To learn more about the 2026 awardees and their accomplishments, visit Joint Commission International's website: https://www.jointcommission.org/en/about-News Plus 360/recognizing-excellence/awards About Joint Commission International Joint Commission International (JCI), established in 1994, is a nonprofit affiliate of Joint Commission, dedicated to improving healthcare quality and patient safety worldwide. Through international accreditation and certification, advisory services, publications, patient safety Pathways program, and education programs, JCI works with healthcare organizations, public health agencies, and health ministries in more than 80 countries to enable and affirm the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all. About Joint Commission Joint Commission enables and affirms the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all. Founded in 1951, it is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare, evaluating more than 23,000 healthcare organizations and programs across the United States. As an independent, nonprofit organization, Joint Commission inspires healthcare organizations across all settings to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. About UNIFY(TM) UNIFY(TM) is Joint Commission's premier, flagship annual conference dedicated to advancing healthcare quality, patient safety, and organizational excellence. UNIFY fosters thought leadership and amplifies key voices across the healthcare industry, uniting stakeholders to address critical challenges and shape the future of healthcare and patient safety. September 30, 2026

Joint Commission awards Pollack inaugural Lifetime Service Award. Sep 30, 2026 - 02:51 PM Joint Commission announced Sept. 30 that Joint Commission announced today that AHA President and CEO Emeritus Rick Pollack received its inaugural Lifetime Service Award, which honors individuals whose careers have advanced healthcare quality, safety and excellence in patient care through sustained leadership, innovation and service. Pollack served 43 years at the AHA, including as president and CEO for more than a decade. He will be presented the award during Joint Commission's UNIFY 2026: Convening for Quality conference. Joint Commission highlighted Pollack's efforts to strengthen hospitals and health systems, expand access to care, advance patient safety and support the healthcare workforce. The organization also noted his work to improve healthcare cybersecurity preparedness and his role in advancing Joint Commission and the AHA's Cyber Resilience Readiness program, an initiative designed to help hospitals and health systems assess and strengthen their ability to sustain safe clinical operations during cyber-related technology outages. "I am honored to receive Joint Commission's Lifetime Service Award," said Pollack. "This recognition is a testament to the healthcare leaders, caregivers and advocates who work every day to make care safer, better and more accessible for every patient and every community. AHA's decades-long commitment to quality and patient safety builds on the leadership of my predecessors, making this an honor I share with them. I have been privileged to spend my career at the AHA standing alongside extraordinary people and organizations united by a powerful mission: to improve health and change lives.