Gearing up for Accreditation 2022 – our ‘Journey to Excellence’

We are on a ‘Journey to Excellence’ as our entire team starts to gear up for Accreditation 2022.

For years, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare has voluntarily participated in the Accreditation Canada program to constantly improve the quality of care we provide to patients. “Qmentum Accreditation” is tool that ensures we are meeting the best standards of care while also identifying recommendations on how we can improve.

Every four years, independent surveyors with health care expertise complete a multi-day onsite survey to examine all aspects of the health care we deliver – from patient safety and ethics, to staff education and training, governance and partnering with the community. During this survey, both sites are measured against specific Required Organizational Practices (ROPs) associated with close to 2,500 national standards of excellence. An ROP is an essential practice that organizations must have in place to enhance patient safety and minimize risk. They are categorized into eight quality dimensions: accessibility, appropriateness, client-centred services, continuity, efficiency, population focus, safety and worklife; and six patient safety areas, each with its own goal, as follows:

Safety Culture: Create a culture of safety within the organization;

Communication: Promote effective information transfer with clients and team members across the continuum of care;

Medication Use: Ensure the safe use of high-risk medications;

Worklife/Workforce: Create a worklife and physical environment that supports the safe delivery of care and service;

Infection Control: Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections and their impact across the continuum of care; and

Risk Assessment: Identify and mitigate safety risks inherent in the client population.

Preparation for accreditation starts with self-assessments by core teams. The results of individual staff surveys also help to identify any gaps, supporting our preparation for the actual Accreditation Canada survey where surveyors evaluate our compliance with the ROPs and standards that contribute to high quality, safe, and effectively managed care.

To achieve an ‘Accredited’ decision, an organization must meet a minimum of 80% of all criteria, and a minimum of 70% of high-priority criteria and Required Organizational Practices in every standard set.

Our most recent survey in 2018 awarded us the highest possible rating: Accredited with Exemplary Standards, having met 95.8% of the 2,438 standards. Once again we are striving for the top award and to demonstrate we are committed to quality improvement, every day.

Our Accreditation 2022 theme ‘Journey to Excellence’ was chosen from a variety of suggestions generated through a staff naming contest. It is supported by strong branding that plays on our MAHC acronym with imagery of a person actively on the journey.

Year after year, with the accreditation process, we have continued to build on our commitment to work together to provide outstanding integrated health care to our communities and deliver best patient outcomes with exemplary standards and compassion.

MAHC's Accreditation 2022 logo