What's New at All Nations Healing Hospital   

Quality improvement initiatives throughout all health care services are always a top priority for the board of directors, administration and staff at the All Nations' Healing Hospital (ANHH).

And this has paid off -the ANHH was recognized for providing high quality patient care during an accreditation process for community health services.

"As an external review process which is objective, accreditation provides us with a tool to help demonstrate accountability to patients, communities and other stakeholders," says Gail Boehme, Director of the All Nations' Healing Hospital. "We are so pleased with our latest results of a near perfect grade from Accreditation Canada with an overall score of 95 percent in preliminary results," she said.

Every heath care facility in Canada needs to maintain current accreditation with Accreditation Canada (AC). The ANHH, under the Regina QuıAppelle Health Region, was last accredited in 2005. This time around, the ANHH was required to accredit as a standalone facility.

Being a fully accredited health care organization confirms that the hospital is meeting all of the health care service standards in areas such as infection control management, patient safety, emergency standards and financial accountability; and it is also a means of providing public accountability.

"Accreditation of the All Nations' Healing Hospital places a national stamp of approval on our services and recognizes the outstanding work done at the hospital," says Chief Daywalker-Pelletier, member of the ANHH Board of Directors.

Being a fully accredited hospital also ensures that ANHH is able to access necessary funding and is recognized as a clinical teaching site for nursing, LPN and other health professions' students - as educational institutions will only place students in accredited facilities.

Accreditation Canada is a national, independent organization that that provides health and social service organizations with a voluntary, external peer review to assess the quality of their services based on standards of excellence. This helps guide health professionals in their quest to ensure Canadians are receiving the highest quality health care services possible.

In Oct. 2008, surveyors from Accreditation Canada spent several days at the ANHH. They met with hospital management, the board and staff, toured the facility, interviewed staff, physicians, and clients and reviewed hospital documents.

"Going through the accreditation process was a team building experience. We all worked together to understand the accreditation standards and how each and every one of us plays an important role in patient safety. Departments came together to identify ways of making improvements to ensure patient safety and high quality care in every area," says Dinys Reed RN, BSN, who is charge of Infection Control and Quality Improvement at the ANHH. The surveyors also gained input from community members, on their experiences at the hospital, through the Community Partners Focus group. Everyone was encouraged to discuss their experiences, perceptions and expectations.

The results of the survey findings were detailed in a report that was provided to ANHH administration. The on-site report indicated that ANHH met 95 percent of the criteria that the surveyors objectively evaluated the organization against, including national standards.

Accreditation Canada surveyors noted many positive aspects of the ANHH including the positive work environment demonstrated by staff interaction with patients and with each other, the open communication and collaboration among staff and management, the educational opportunities and career development available for staff, the keen focus on patient safety and the boardıs understanding of the needs of the community.

The ANHH was also noted as being a role model for the integration of services amongst different levels of government and funders, and for being a leader in the community. As for the physical hospital space it was said that it is spacious, bright, clean and respectful of culture - the pride in facility is evident.

"We proudly display our achievement of accreditation to the public. Accreditation does not end with the survey and the certificate, our team continues to work together to ensure we are doing our best to keep up with standards to ensure patient safety and high quality care," proudly states Dinys Reed.

Reprinted with permission from The Fort Qu'Appelle Times