Samaritan’s Critical Access Hospitals Earn DNV Recertification February 12, 2026 Hospital staff and administrators gladly jump to attention when DNV surveyors arrive onsite for their annual unannounced survey. DNV is an independent certification, assurance and risk management organization that reviews hospitals’ patient safety processes and finds ways for continued improvement and better care experiences. Every third year, the surprise DNV survey is even more intense and comprehensive, as part of the recertification process. Once again, the critical access hospitals of Samaritan Health Services can report success and have been recertified for a three-year period beginning in January 2026. Hospitals Reviewed for Patient Safety By earning accreditation, Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital have demonstrated they meet or exceed patient safety standards (known as conditions of participation) set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “The DNV program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety,” said Jennifer Kimberlain, MSN, MBA-HA, vice president of Patient Care Services for Samaritan’s three critical access hospitals. “The ability to integrate ISO 9001 quality standards with our clinical and financial processes is a major step forward.” Program Encourages Quality Transformation DNV’s accreditation program encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols. Samaritan’s acute care hospitals – Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Samaritan Albany General Hospital – are on a different recertification schedule from the critical access hospitals, so their recertification survey will be at later dates. “We have taken an entirely different approach to accreditation, and hospitals are really responding,” says DNV Healthcare USA Inc. President Kelly Proctor. “Since accreditation is a must-have credential for just about every hospital in this country, why not make it more valuable, and get more out of it? That’s where ISO 9001 comes into play and turns the typical get-your-ticket-punched accreditation exercise into a quality transformation.”
