When it comes to care, quality matters. As a care provider for aging individuals and persons with developmental disabilities, it’s important that residents and their families can trust in our ability to provide safe, quality accommodations and services. That’s why, starting in October, the Good Samaritan Society and Good Samaritan Canada will undergo our next accreditation journey. Over the coming months, GSS and GSC will be working to meet and exceed standards set out by Accreditation Canada and improve quality, safety, care, and service for our residents.
What is Accreditation?
Overall, accreditation is an ongoing process of assessing health care and social services organizations against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved. For Good Samaritan, accreditation helps create better health care and services for our residents and their families, allowing us to understand how to make better use of our resources, increase our efficiency, enhance care quality and safety, and reduce risk in our care homes and programs.
This year, Good Samaritan will be assessed using Accreditation Canada’s Qmentum program. Our care homes, offices, and programs in Alberta and British Columbia be assessed for six Standard Sets: Governance, Leadership, Infection Prevention and Control, Long Term Care, Medication Management, Residential Homes for Seniors, and Service Excellence.
Who Conducts Accreditation?
Accreditation is conducted by Accreditation Canada, an independent, nongovernmental organization that works with healthcare authorities, hospitals, and community-based programs and organizations to advance quality and safety in healthcare. For over 55 years, Accreditation Canada has worked to improve quality, safety, and efficiency to provide residents and their families with the best possible care and service.
To learn more about Accreditation Canada, visit accreditation.ca.
Raising the Bar
The Good Samaritan Society and Good Samaritan Canada have a proven record of success exceeding accreditation standards for quality, safety and accountability. In October 2019, The Good Samaritan Society and Good Samaritan Canada went beyond the requirements of the Qmentum accreditation program and were commended by Accreditation Canada for promoting a culture that lives its mission, vision and values. We achieved 99% (594/600) of total criteria met within the standard sets. Additionally, Good Samaritan met 100% of the Standard Sets for Medication Management, Infection Prevention and Control, and Governance.
As our accreditation journey begins once again, we hope to continue leading by example for our industry and demonstrating our commitment to achieving and maintaining excellent quality and safety standards for our residents.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2023 issue of the Journey. Read this and other issues of the Journey here, or sign up to be the first to receive the Journey online or by mail.
