Glen Haven Manor focused on 2019 evaluation
Glen Haven Manor has been an accredited long-term care facility for more than 20 years and it is a certification CEO Lisa M. Smith and her team take great pride in.
Accreditation is a process of assessing health and social services organizations against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved.
It is an additional process to the requirements of licensing which is conducted annually by the Nova Scotia Department of Health & Wellness.
“Being part of the Accreditation Canada process demonstrates our commitment to international standards and providing exceptional individualized quality care to the residents of Glen Haven,” said Smith. “Best practices in continuing care are always changing and evolving in line with the needs of an aging population whose levels of acuity are now higher.”
More than 7,000 sites in health care and social services across five continents are working with and adhering to the standards that Accreditation Canada uses. Glen Haven is one of a select number of accredited long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia.
Glen Haven received its current Accreditation status in 2015 which covers the period of 2015-2019. There is an extensive Accreditation evaluation and on-site visit by surveyors that takes place every four years.
As of October, the countdown is on for one year until the Accreditation Canada surveyors visit and make another comprehensive assessment and evaluation.
Alana Rondeau, Manager of Quality and Glen Haven’s lead on Accreditation, points out that the process for ensuring best practices is continuous and never ends. “It is a rigorous and rewarding process,” she says.
“You don’t just say or write that you follow a specific standard or best practice, you must prove it. It means we are constantly and consistently holding ourselves to internationally recognized standards for long-term care.”
Smith says accreditation is all encompassing and involves all members of the organization, from leadership, to frontline staff, to residents and their families, as well as the board of directors, members of the community, and community partners.
“It is important to residents and their families to know we have reached this high standard as well as to staff, who can take pride in contributing to this achievement,” Rondeau added.