The results of Accreditation Canada's recent survey looking at Prairie Mountain Health found an overall compliance rate of 95% on criteria evaluated.
PMH received a score of 98% in normal criteria, 96% in high priority criteria, and 91% in safety practices. Cynthia Taylor, Manager of Quality, Patient Safety, and Accreditation, said accreditation surveys always give a lot of valuable information to PMH, about what they're doing well, and where they can improve.
Even though the lowest score, 91% in safety practices, looks not great compared to the others, it's still very high - good for an A+ grade.
"The biggest takeaway for Prairie Mountain Health is that we continue to perform at a very high level across the standards that are set...I think that it's important to recognize that while the safety practices category is the lowest of the three, it still reflects a really strong level of compliance," said Taylor.
Seven quality standards were evaluated during the survey process, which was completed from May 24th to 29th of this year. They include Critical Care Services, Emergency Department Services, Inpatient Services, Obstetric Services, Perioperative and Invasive Procedures (Surgery), Medical Device Repositioning, Infection Prevention and Control, and Medication Management.
The positive accreditation results don't mean PMH is satisfied - Taylor said the whole point of the accreditation system is to find where they can do better, and how they can do that. It also serves a great way to recognize the work that's already been done, not just by PMH, but by their nurses, doctors, support staff, and other involved personnel.
"The purpose of accreditation is designed to identify where we can improve, they're striving to push organizations to continue to evolve and go past previous results...the findings also help us celebrate the tremendous work that our staff, physicians, leaders, and volunteers do every single day, in support of the patients, residents, clients, and families across the region," said Taylor.
Originally founded in 1958 as the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation, Accreditation Canada works with more than 900 surveyors to survey health practices in more than 15,000 locations in 40 countries, including all Canadian provinces and territories.
