ADARA Healthcare Staffing Awarded Joint Commission Certification

Duncansville, PA - April 5, 2005 — ADARA Healthcare Staffing has achieved the Gold Seal of Approval for health care staffing services. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has awarded ADARA Healthcare Staffing Health Care Staffing Services Certification for one year.

ADARA Healthcare Staffing met national standards addressing how staffing firms determine the qualifications and competency of their staff, how they place their staff and then monitor staff's performance.

"Health care organizations that contract with ADARA Healthcare Staffing can look to this certification as an assurance that ADARA Healthcare Staffing demonstrates a commitment to providing and continuously improving quality services," says Michele Sacco, executive director, Health Care Staffing Services Certification, Joint Commission.

The ongoing shortages of nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals have forced health care organizations to increasingly fill positions with temporary workers through contractual arrangements with staffing firms. The Joint Commission certification program was launched in October 2004 to offer an independent, comprehensive evaluation of a staffing firm's abilities to provide competent staffing services.

"Certification recognizes ADARA Healthcare Staffing's dedication to providing nurses that are qualified to provide safe, high-quality care to patients," says Laura O'Farrell, RN. "We're proud to receive the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval."

Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 7,800 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 7,300 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery networks, and other managed care entities. In addition, the Joint Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs and primary stroke centers. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.