RVH earns the highest level of accreditation for quality care
January 19, 2022
Accreditation Canada surveyors Lynne Campkin, Donnalene Tuer-Hodes, Julia Boudreau, RVH CEO, Dr. Julie Lajoie, surveyor, Chris Ferguson, RVH VP Patient Services, Erin Rennick, Survey Coordinator and Marg McNab-Tubman, RVH Board Chair, at RVH’s accredition survey debrief on December 8.
Renfrew Victoria Hospital has been awarded the highest rating—Accredited with Exemplary Standing—from Accreditation Canada.
Accreditation Canada surveyors assess organizations to ensure they are meeting the global standards that lead to safe, effective care.
By their own admission, the surveyors “opened drawers and did a lot of snooping” and were quite pleased with what they found at RVH during the three-day survey that took place December 6-8, 2021.
The RVH Board of Directors was pleased to participate in the accreditation process said Marg McNab-Tubman, RVH Board Chair.
“Every employee at RVH is to be congratulated for their passion and excellence at what they do. The daily, ongoing commitment to excellence is what the surveyors felt and saw during their time at RVH and we are fortunate to see it every day. Receiving Exemplary status yet again is an amazing outcome for RVH. Congratulations to everyone who participated.”
RVH met 1,408 of 1,414 applicable standards for a 99.6% compliance rate and met 100% of required organizational practices (ROPs) to ensure safe, quality care.
Surveyors Lynne Campkin, Dr. Julie Lajoie and Donnalene Tuer-Hodes noted that this was particularly impressive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final debrief, Tuer-Hodes, speaking for the trio, shared many positives such as the refreshed strategic plan, capital projects and funding to support them, increasing number of integrated partnerships including oncology, radiology, surgery and nephrology with The Ottawa Hospital, and 31 years of balanced budgets, as well as the physical environment/infrastructure.
She spoke highly about the RVH Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC).
“This organization is far ahead of other organizations for patient and family engagement. You hear and listen to PFAC members and value their input. They know their community and advocate on all levels of the organization,” stated Tuer-Hodes.
The Epic electronic health information system and the new hospitalist model of physician care for inpatients earned praise from the surveyors as well.
Tuer-Hodes also suggested some opportunities for improvement going forward.
As noted by Dr. Steve Radke, Chief of Staff, “This really is one of the main values of Accreditation, an assessment of not only where we are at, but also where we can focus our attention to provide even better care.”
Julia Boudreau, RVH CEO, acknowledged the preparation and onsite work by the surveyors noting that “it’s not an easy task” to come into an unfamiliar organization.
“You made staff and physicians feel comfortable, yet asked lots of tough questions to ensure compliance with the standards and ROPS. You were well prepared and you really gave all of our teams an opportunity to shine.”
Tuer-Hodes said the survey team enjoyed their time at RVH.
“We were looking for quality and RVH didn’t disappoint. We can’t tell you all the great things we saw this week,” stated Tuer-Hodes.
Reflecting on the survey results, Boudreau said, “The provision of excellent care has been our mission at RVH for a long time—really it’s embedded, it starts at the Board, filters down through senior management, is shared by our physicians our managers and team leaders, and by all of our staff. It is in our culture and within each of us to always strive to do the best we can do… and that is to provide the best possible patient care.”
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For more information, please contact:
Julia Boudreau, CEO,
Renfrew Victoria Hospital & St. Francis Memorial Hospital
613-432-4851, ext. 260