Accredited at the Highest Level!
no question—it was tense…
in the SSPSH boardroom on June 23 as the leadership team waited for the Accreditation Canada surveyors to present their findings after two days onsite at GSS. Our accreditation is reviewed every 4 years with two surveyors coming onsite to learn about how the organization plans, operates, improves, and, equally important, what a client experiences during service delivery.
Surveyors’ Process
In their presentation, the surveyors would highlight the strengths they identified through holding meetings, touring sites, and reviewing GSS documents of all kinds. But they would also highlight any gaps that showed GSS wasn’t compliant with standards. It wasn’t the final, official result, but the surveyors would tell us what we missed, and we would probably know if our accreditation was renewed.
A cause for concern was that over 600 standards apply to GSS in areas like leadership, infection prevention, and medication management. We knew it was especially important to comply with standards considered Required Organizational Practices (ROPs) like suicide or fall prevention or hand hygiene. Any ROP gap would put GSS accreditation at risk, possibly sending a message to the community that safety or service quality had slipped.
While onsite, the surveyors completed multiple checklists tracking if they saw evidence of relevant standards being Met or Unmet. On the final night, based on their ratings, they prepared their preliminary report and the presentation the leadership team was waiting for.
Surveyors’ Findings
Staff who met with the surveyors found them comfortable to deal with. Still, it seemed like everyone on Team GSS was holding their breath at that morning meeting with the surveyors. The presentation started with overall observations of successes and challenges. Then it was time for the critical rating results….
Everyone relaxed a little when the surveyors asked for a drum roll on the tables. It couldn’t be that bad then, right? It wasn’t. In fact, it was very, very good! GSS had met all 633 relevant safety, service, and leadership standards!
Below is the slide that showed our compliance with the standards GSS was assessed against. In each area: 0 Unmet Standards.
Part of the surveyor ratings was based on extensive documentation they reviewed from procedure manuals and the operations plan, to service models and audit forms. In other words, work that is done on a regular basis by all staff across the agency. Another part of their ratings was based on site visits and tours as well as meeting with clients, the Board, and community partners. A big thank you to all those individuals who met with the surveyors on our behalf!
But a core part of the survey was meeting with GSS staff. The stellar results show that we couldn’t have been better represented during those meetings. A special thank you on behalf of everyone at GSS to:
The Clinical Access Team representatives who met with the surveyors about Community-Based Mental Health Services and Supports, and about our Ethical Decision-Making Framework.
The Medical Detox Unit staff who met with surveyors about Infection Prevention and Control, Medication Management, Substance Abuse and Problem Gambling, and Emergency Response.
Our leaders who met with the surveyors about leadership practices as well as operational areas like finance, human resources, communication, and quality management.
‘Accredited with Exemplary Status’ – we literally couldn’t have done any better. Congratulations to everyone at the George Spady Society for this outstanding accomplishment!