A large group of interested staff were on hand the last time Accreditation Canada surveyors delivered their results in late 2011.

Company’s Coming: Accreditation on the agenda for Coastal acute sites this June

As acute care sites across Coastal prepare for Accreditation Canada surveyors this coming June, the following Q&As have been prepared to ensure all staff are aware of the process and can participate wherever appropriate.

Company’s coming June 22-26, 2015

Why do we participate in Accreditation?

We use Accreditation to evaluate and enhance the quality of our services, showcase our leading practices and celebrate staff.

What is Accreditation Canada?
It’s an independent, not-for-profit organization that assesses and certifies more than 5,700 health care sites and services across Canada.

What standards should we focus on?

Standards including medication management, infection control, emergency department, medicine, critical care, perioperative, mental health, obstetrics and device reprocessing.

What sites are being accredited?

The sites being visited June 22-26, 2015, are:

  • Bella Coola General Hospital
  • Lions Gate Hospital
  • Pemberton Health Care Centre
  • Powell River General Hospital
  • RW Large Memorial Hospital
  • Squamish General Hospital
  • St. Mary’s Hospital
  • Whistler Health Care Centre

What’s a tracer?

Tracers are the methods the Accreditation Canada surveyors use to evaluate our services. It involves following a patient and their experience as they’re cared for by different team members throughout their care pathway.

What’s a mock tracer?

It’s a test run teams can use to prepare for the site visit. Learn how to run a mock tracer on your unit on VCH Connect: vch-connect/programs/qps/accreditation/step5/Tracers

What’s this I hear about Accreditation 2016?

In the next few months, you’ll also hear more about preparations for VCH-wide Accreditation in September 2016. Coastal acute sites that have already participated in Accreditation in 2015 will not need to complete the Self-Assessment again and can continue to focus on the improvement work underway for the June 2015 evaluation. Starting with the September 2016 site visit, all sites across VCH will participate in Accreditation together every four years.

Where can I get more information and resources?

Talk to your manager to find out how your unit is preparing for Accreditation 2015. You can also get more information and resources such as action plans, fact sheets and tools to help you prepare for the site visit on the Accreditation site of VCH-Connect at: vch-connect/programs/qps/accreditation