June 9, 2010

International health care publication includes article by local hospital administrator

When health professionals around the world read their spring publication about quality health care initiatives, they’ll be learning a bit about the perspective from Renfrew and Barry’s Bay.

This month’s issue of the ISQua Bulletin, the bimonthly publication of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, features an article by Randy Penney, CEO of Renfrew Victoria Hospital and St. Francis Memorial Hospital in Barry’s Bay.

“It’s a big honour for me to be published in such a prestigious forum,” Penney says, explaining that the ISQua is a non-profit, independent organization with members in more than 70 countries.

His article was originally written for QMentum Quarterly, the journal of Accreditation Canada. It focuses on Canada’s national health care accreditation program and how it benefits Canadian hospitals and patients by inspiring health care providers to be innovative and quality driven.

Penney has been a surveyor for the national accreditation organization since 1992, volunteering his time to provide peer reviews of hospitals throughout Canada and beyond. He is also the current chair of Accreditation Canada’s surveyor advisory committee.

“I’m a firm believer in the accreditation process,” he says. “It brings peers together to review policies and practices, providing an objective review of what is happening on an organizational level.”

“It also offers a professional forum for caregivers, administrators and hospital board members to share their ideas and experience,” he adds.

Publication in the ISQua Bulletin has provided Penney with a global forum to share his views about the importance of accreditation.

“It’s not an opportunity that comes along every day for the administrator of a small, rural health care facility,” he says. “I’m particularly pleased that they printed the author’s information referring to my position in Renfrew and Barry’s Bay. It’s important for health care executives everywhere to remember that there are teams in facilities of every size and location who are dedicated to quality care for their patients.”

The ISQua provides services to guide health professionals, care providers, researchers, agencies, and policy makers to achieve excellence in health care delivery to all people, and to continuously improve the quality and safety of care.

In his message on the organization’s website, ISQua President Phillip Hassen notes that “ISQua can act as knowledge transfer agent/broker for the benefits of one and all. We have much to learn from each other.”

The organization was established in 1985 in Italy. Its headquarters were moved to Australia for a number of years, and recently relocated to Ireland. Members of the executive board are from North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. It is formally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being in “official relations” with WHO in various health care initiatives.

To learn more about the ISQua, visit: www.isqua.org. For more information on the accreditation of Canadian health care institutions, visit: www.accreditation.ca.

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For more information, please contact Randy Penney, CEO, Renfrew Victoria Hospital, 613-432-4851, ext. 260.