Accreditation
Part of demonstrating the quality of health care and support services is to have them verified by an external organization. In the pursuit of excellence, organizations may voluntarily participate in the Accreditation Canada program of meeting national standards for quality in community care.
For the third time since 2004, Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes (CCCKL) recently participated in this internationally-recognized program to assess the quality of its services based on high standards of excellence. Following an extensive examination of the entire organization by two accreditation surveyors in March 2011, Community Care received “full accreditation” status for the next three years. Less than 15 per cent of all organizations surveyed by Accreditation Canada receive this full accreditation standing.
Community Care is one of only 1,000 agencies in the country recognized by Accreditation Canada for quality health services and practices. Accreditation Canada is a not-for-profit, independent organization that provides health organizations with an external peer review to assess quality of their services. Participating organizations are measured by standards that examine all aspects of health care, from patient safety and ethics, to staff training and partnering with the community. Accredited agencies include hospitals, health centres and community-based social support service providers.
Accreditation Canada establishes these standards for health care and community organizations and surveys the organizations to evaluate compliance with these standards
In total, the agency successfully complied with 457 of 469 standards that it was accessed on – an outstanding 97.5 per cent positive compliance rate!
Our agency’s accreditation history
CCCKL first received accreditation status in 2005 and was re-certified in 2008. The agency gets examined by experienced professionals from accredited health facilities. The surveyors examine the organization’s operation and service provision through six standards: home support services, primary care, effective organization, governance, infection prevention and control, and managing medications.
Accreditation is one of the most effective ways for health services organizations to regularly and consistently examine and improve the quality of their services. The program is designed to create an increased awareness of accreditation as a powerful tool for accountability, and enables health care organizations to use accreditation effectively and easily as a roadmap for quality. By participating in the accreditation process, an organization such as Community Care displays its commitment to quality improvement in its own programs as well as within the community it serves.
The strength of the process is that it leads to the agency having a primary and fundamental focus on quality improvement, client and patient safety and effective governance. The standards that we will work to attain can be easily integrated into daily activities and service delivery.
