Accreditation surveyors arrive Feb. 1

In just over a month, Accreditation Canada surveyors will arrive to begin our Accreditation Survey, looking for evidence of quality, ethical and safe patient care by visiting the clinical units, asking questions and talking to patients and staff.

The survey schedule starts with the surveyors’ visit to St. Catharines General Site Feb. 1 to meet our leadership and governance teams, examine communication and ethical decision-making processes and visit Cancer Care, Medical and ICU/Critical Care Units.

On Feb. 2, they will travel to Greater Niagara General Site to conduct a community partners focus group, visit Diagnostic Imaging, Mental Health, Surgery, Medical Devices and Equipment (Sterilization and Reprocessing), and examine Patient Flow, Infection Prevention and Control, Emergency Preparedness, Physical Environment and Integrated Quality Management processes.

The next day, they will visit Welland, Port Colborne and Douglas sites. In Welland, the surveyors will focus on Human Capital, Resource Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Medical Devices and Equipment and will visit Maternal Child to do a clinical tracer.

While in Port Colborne, they will visit Addictions Services and Complex Continuing Care areas. The focus for the Douglas Memorial Site visit will be on Urgent Care and Medication Management. At the end of the day, all surveyors will return to St. Catharines General Site, where Medication Management and Infection Prevention and Control processes will be reviewed.

On Feb 4, their last day, the surveyors will present their preliminary findings. The full results of the survey will be finalized by Accreditation Canada in the weeks following the surveyor visit.

Staff and physicians are asked to go to source•net and click on the Accreditation link for more information. Take time to prepare yourself for the visit by watching the Tracer video to learn how the surveyors will trace an entire process from start to finish to examine our compliance to standards.

Who the surveyors are:

• Kris Gustavson, RN, Corporate Director, Accreditation and Patient Experience at Provincial Health Services Authority Children’s and Women’s Health Centre, B.C.
• Sandra Kearns, RN, formerly Vice President, Corporate Performance and Medical Affairs, Bluewater Health, Sarnia.
• Catherine Danbrook, RN, formerly Vice President, Clinical Programs, The Ottawa Hospital.
• Dr. Orlando da Silva, Neonatologist, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, London; Clinical Epidemiologist and Professor at the University of Western Ontario.
• Sue Carpenter, Network Director of Emergency Services, Interior Health Authority, B.C. «