Final answer:
Hospitals can apply for Joint Commission accreditation to assess and enhance their quality of care consistent with the standards set by the Joint Commission. This is reflective of the ongoing efforts to improve healthcare, as historically demonstrated by legislation such as the Hill Burton Act of 1946, which aimed to expand hospital facilities across the US.
Step-by-step explanation:
Any hospital may apply for Joint Commission accreditation if it assesses and improves the quality of its care, treatment, and/or services and provides services addressed in Joint Commission standards. This is in line with the history of healthcare improvement in the United States, as exemplified by the Hospital Survey and Construction Act (known as the Hill Burton Act) passed in 1946. This act, a result of the American Hospital Association's (AHA) recommendation and federal lobbying, was geared towards expanding and building new hospital facilities to achieve a quota of 4.5 beds available per 1,000 residents. While geared towards providing funding for hospital expansion, it initially permitted spending to support segregated facilities until the Supreme Court forbade this in 1963. The move towards improving healthcare quality and access partly informs the current standards by which hospital accreditation is measured.