HIROC subscriber receives excellent accreditation report
Enthusiastic staff credited with driving safety initiatives
Monday March 10, 2008 -- Jason Thompson
Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto is on top of its game when it comes to patient safety and has been awarded a three-year accreditation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) for its efforts.

Although the CCHSA report states the organization’s successes are numerous and varied, “most significant are the enthusiastic and committed staff, and the ongoing patient safety initiatives.”

Marg Czaus, Humber River Regional Hospital’s chief nursing officer and accreditation steering committee chair, says being told by the CCHSA that the hospital meets every one of their required practices for patient safety is very encouraging.

She agrees with the CCHSA report that staff at the hospital play major role in the organization’s success.

“Our staff and physicians come to work every day dedicated to delivering the highest quality care to our patients, and this report proves that their efforts are having positive results,” Czaus said in a press release.

Hospital president and CEO Dr. Rueben Devlin agrees with Czaus’ assessment, saying the CCHSA report is a testament to the dedication of the organization’s staff, physicians and volunteers.

“It shows that our strategy of continuous quality improvement is producing real results for patients," Devlin said in a release.

In addition to the efforts of front-line clinicians, the CCHSA report also lauded the organization’s board of directors and administrators for their efforts to communicate “significant decisions the organization is facing” with the community.

Humber River Regional Hospital, a Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) subscriber, was also recognized as the first organization in the area to conduct a failure modes effects analysis (FMEA) through its use of the Managing Obstetrical Risk Efficiently (MORE OB) program.

Other organizational strengths listed in the report include the hiring of a safety co-ordinator to provide patient safety training on an ongoing basis, and the fact that single-use products are not re-used. There are regular audits and inspections carried out in clinical areas in this regard.

HIROC subscribers are encouraged to share their accreditation success stories by phoning the newsroom at (800) 294-0051, ext. 25 or via e-mail at jason(at)axiomnews.ca.

If you have feedback on this story, please phone (800) 294-0051 or e-mail jason(at)axiomnews.ca.