Prairie North Health Region is touting its best-ever report from Accreditation Canada for meeting national standards for quality and safety in health care.
PNHR, accredited under the Qmentum program, met 92 per cent of all criteria for the 22 standards on which the organization was assessed, according to CEO David Fan.
Of 37 required organizational practices or ROPs, 29 were fully met and the remaining eight were partially met.
This is the fourth accreditation report for Prairie North Health Region since its inception in 2002. The decision letter from Accreditation Canada commended the health region for its strong showing.
"This is a milestone to be celebrated," they noted. "We congratulate you and your team for your commitment to providing safe, high quality health services."
The report goes on to say that PNHR "has succeeded in meeting the fundamental requirements of the accreditation program."
Areas of improvement included revitalizing PNHR's ethics framework, reinvigorating the performance appraisal process and establishing a formal process for identifying and analyzing actual and potential risks for the organization. The accreditation follows an onside survey conducted by eight Accreditation Canada external peer surveyors between May 27 and 31.
In a statement, Fan said the organization is already working to meet the requirements of the eight remaining ROPS identified in the report, and report their progress to Accreditation Canada by the end of October.
"I am confidently optimistic that we will soon be in full compliance with these outstanding requirements as we continue our ongoing journey to achieve our mission of 'the safest and best possible care, experience and health' for Prairie North Health Region residents and all we serve," said Fan.
"We are extremely pleased with these results," said Bonnie O'Grady, chairperson of Prairie North Regional Health Authority, in a statement.
"Our health region truly is committed to continually improving the quality and safety of the health care and services we provide. We are thrilled that Accreditation Canada has once again recognized our achievements and identified areas where we can further improve."
