Good Samaritan Hospital Retains Prestigious Advanced Spine Surgery Certification from The Joint Commission

Good Samaritan Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery (ACSS) by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The re-accreditation of the Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.

A close collaboration between Good Samaritan Hospital and Mayfield Brain & Spine, the nationally known, Cincinnati-based neurosurgery practice, spurred development of the spine surgery program. Mayfield neurosurgeons worked with the hospital’s leadership to ensure the highest standards of clinical excellence and outcomes reporting.

The re-certification, offered in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, helps organizations provide consistent communication and collaboration among all health care providers involved in the care of the patient – from the pre-surgical consultation with the spine surgeon to the intraoperative, hospitalization or ambulatory surgery center admission, rehabilitation activities and then the follow-up visit with the surgeon.

Dr. Zachary Tempel, a neurosurgeon at Mayfield Brain & Spine and chief of spine surgery at the TriHealth Spine Center, said the certification validates the standard of excellence at Good Samaritan Hospital and across the entire network of clinical partners serving patients there.

"Patients need and deserve the highest level of care when facing every type of spine disorder, from outpatient procedures to the most complex spinal reconstruction," Dr. Tempel said. "TriHealth is continuously investing in staff and equipment to help these patients live healthy lives doing the things they love to do. At Mayfield Brain & Spine, we are proud to provide leading-edge surgical care to this equation, and we are proud of the collaborative process that ensures the safety and efficacy of the comprehensive spine care program."

To be eligible for ACSS, organizations must implement evidence-based care and clinical practice guidelines and participate in the American Spine Registry, a national quality improvement registry for spine care. Additionally, organizations collect performance measurement data on surgical site infection rates, new neurological deficits, unplanned return visits to the operating room and pre-operative and post-operative patient reported outcomes.

The Good Samaritan Hospital underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review on May 6. During the visit, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification standards. Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewer also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

More about TriHealth
TriHealth is hospitals, physicians and the community working together to help people live better. We provide clinical, educational, preventive and social programs through Bethesda North, Bethesda Butler, Good Samaritan and McCullough-Hyde hospitals, and more than 140 other locations throughout Greater Cincinnati. This includes an ambulatory network, physician practices, research division, employer-based health services, hospice care and fitness and health facilities. Learn more at trihealth.com, Facebook.com/TriHealth, @TriHealth on Twitter and at YouTube.com/TriHealth.

About Mayfield Brain & Spine: Founded in 1937, Mayfield Brain & Spine is a nationally known independent neurosurgery practice, with 20 neurosurgeons, one orthopedic spine surgeon, one neuro-oncologist and six interventional pain or physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM & R) physicians. Neurosurgeons see patients at six offices and perform surgeries at the region's leading health systems, treating brain tumors, spinal deformity, strokes and a variety of other disorders of the brain and spine. With about 330 total associates, Mayfield served more than 36,600 patients in 2025. Mayfield also was named one of the region's "Best Places to Work" in 2022 and 2024 in a competition sponsored by the Cincinnati Business Courier.