Quality & Performance

Accreditation

Saint Elizabeth Health Care is committed to quality health care and continuous improvement, as evidenced by our national accreditation by Accreditation Canada. In 1998, we were one of the first home and community health care organizations in Ontario to be awarded Accreditation and our leadership in this area continues today.

Accreditation is an evidence-based process that emphasizes health system performance, service excellence, client safety, performance management, and leadership and governance. We participate in this voluntary process every three years in order to share information on innovations and leading practices, and to gauge how we are doing compared to other similar health care organizations.

To learn more, visit www.accreditation.ca.

Canada Awards of Excellence

Saint Elizabeth Health Care is a recipient of the Canada Awards for Excellence (CAE) Bronze recognition for Quality & Healthy Workplace®. As one of Canada’s highest levels of recognition, each CAE applicant is evaluated through an independent adjudication process and judged against national criteria.

According to the National Quality Institute, organizations that receive CAE awards demonstrate the following key characteristics:

• Visible and committed leadership
• Demonstrated positive impact of cross-functional business processes
• Higher level of employee commitment and engagement
• Comprehensive performance measurements
• Alignment of the NQI Framework for Organizational Excellence with the business plan
• A culture of quality
• A Healthy Workplace®
• Superior business results when compared with many other publicly-traded companies

To learn more, visit www.nqi.ca.

Client Satisfaction

To help us understand what we are doing well and where we can improve, Saint Elizabeth Health Care engages an independent research firm to conduct client experience and satisfaction surveys. Surveys are conducted by phone and ask clients and families to objectively report on their care experience with SEHC and how well we well we deliver on the aspects of care most important to you. Your privacy and confidentiality are assured.

Based on our latest quarterly report (April – June 2009, n=1834), clients tell us:

Client Safety

• SEHC staff have the right skills for care: 85.8% positive response
• staff washed their hands upon entering the home: 79.2% positive response

Client Experience

• SEHC was sensitive to their cultural needs: 88.5% positive response
• SEHC showed respect for their home/belongings: 93% positive response

Client Quotes

• “I am very pleased with the service. It is one of the main reasons why I am able to stay in my own home.”
• “The nurses – everybody has been absolute professionals; culturally sensitive and extremely caring and great listeners; they make the elderly feel like they are worth something.”
• “I always have appreciated the fact that they take the time to treat her as an individual; the child has enjoyed every single visit. I am thrilled at the work you do, and it is nice to know that somebody cares.”
• “It is the best care imaginable and the person who is taking care of me is a devoted person; she cannot do enough for me… she goes beyond the call of duty.”
• “I appreciate this call and I appreciate this interview and I appreciate every hour given to me in order that I can keep my husband at home.”

Health & Wellness

In order to care for others, we need to care for ourselves. Saint Elizabeth Health Care has received numerous awards and recognitions for its employment practices and support for healthy work environments. The goals of our Healthy Workplace Plan are to:

• Establish an environment that fosters worklife balance
• Promote and foster a sense of goodwill and charity
• Understand and improve staff and client safety and quality of care
• Understand employee lifestyle and support healthy behaviours
• Promote Healthy Workplace best practice initiatives

RNAO Best Practice Spotlight Organization

In April 2006, SEHC received their official designation as a Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) in recognition for our continuous, pioneering efforts to raise the bar in day-to-day patient care and evaluating the impact of Best Practice Guidelines use on clinical and health outcomes.

At Saint Elizabeth Health Care, we know that Evidence Based Practice is important to achieving the best care possible for the people we service. This means health care providers know the activities and interventions that result in quality care and utilize them as part of their decision making and practice.

In January 2004, Saint Elizabeth Health Care was selected as one of seven organizations in Ontario to work with the RNAO to implement, sustain and monitor the use of Best Practice Guidelines.

More information about SEHC as a Best Practice Spotlight Organization