VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) has been accredited by Accreditation Canada for the past 20 years. We are pleased to share the news that in 2020, VHA was once again accredited with Exemplary Standing, the highest level of recognition Accreditation Canada awards.

“I am incredibly proud of our whole team,” said Carol Annett, President & CEO of VHA. “The surveyors spoke to clients, families, staff, service providers, our board and community partners and had the chance to hear about all of our work.”

Accreditation Canada assesses VHA every four years to ensure we are adhering to the highest quality and safety home care standards and that our practices and processes are client and family-centred.

“Their report indicates that we met nearly all standards, and there are over 600 of them,” Carol added, “so that gives us confidence that we have good systems and practices in place to deliver high quality and safe care to the clients and families we are here to serve.”

In addition to this great end result, the Accreditation process was an opportunity for everyone from across VHA to work together. As Kathy Sidhu, VHA’s Manager of Quality and Client Experience and Accreditation Co-lead noted, “The Accreditation process really affirmed a deep organizational commitment to excellence and a solid togetherness as we prepared for the rigorous review while also continuing to manage the ongoing pandemic.”

It was certainly a different Accreditation survey than the team was anticipating. Due to COVID-19 most of it needed to be conducted online. But the team was able to reorganize to showcase key initiatives including the comprehensive development process for our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, the continued roll-out of our electronic medical record and our response to the pandemic in areas such as emergency preparedness, infection prevention and control and virtual care service delivery.

The virtual survey also allowed for more regional staff and service providers to participate. Along with Kathy, VHA’s accreditation process was co-led by Client Partner Elizabeth Hall. “I was glad to play a role, particularly since Accreditation Canada recognizes the importance of client and family-centred care,” noted Elizabeth. “I am very pleased with the outcome of VHA’s accreditation survey, but I wasn’t surprised because I know how good VHA is.”