For the fourth time in a row, Southlake Regional Health Centre has been accredited with exemplary standing by Accreditation Canada — and achieved its highest score to date.
“We are proud to once again receive exemplary standing from Accreditation Canada,” Dr. Paul Woods, president and CEO at Southlake, said in a news release. “Southlake has grown significantly since first obtaining this top accreditation 12 years ago. We now see more than 115,000 patients in the emergency department every year. With this standing, patients and their families can be confident that our team delivers safe, leading-edge care when they need it most.”
Five surveyors from Accreditation Canada, an independent national organization that works with hospitals and health-care organizations to improve health quality and patient outcomes, visited Southlake last February. They met with teams and patients across the hospital to assess the hospital’s operations.
Southlake achieved a final score of 99.6 per cent — meeting 2,020 of the 2,029 applicable standards assessed by Accreditation Canada. Key areas of strength include Southlake’s compassionate and engaged staff, medical staff and volunteers, Southlake’s commitment to safety, quality and care delivery, and excellence in patient care with innovative approaches.
“Accreditation is a journey that will ensure Southlake builds on its history of excellence by improving our operations and enhancing patient experiences and outcomes,” said Brigette Boaretto, director, infection prevention and control and research at Southlake. “Maintaining this top designation is an incredible achievement and a true testament to the hard work and dedication of staff, physicians, nurses and volunteers.”
“Southlake’s dedication to quality and safety shines brightly in our pursuit of excellence,” said Sabina Sabo, director, quality, risk and privacy, and chief privacy officer at Southlake. “The entire team at Southlake continues to raise the bar, setting our highest score ever. Every patient and family can be confident that when they walk into Southlake, they’ll receive the leading-edge care.”
Southlake was also recognized with exemplary standing in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Canadian hospitals and health-care organizations can choose to be accredited every four years. The process provides a third-party assessment of quality and safety standards throughout the organization, following a predetermined list of standards and best practices.
The Accreditation Canada review touched every corner of the hospital, reflecting an organization-wide effort in which every team member at Southlake played a role.
“As surveyors, we clearly saw evidence that Southlake’s strength is its people,” said Richard Bedard, team lead, surveyor at Accreditation Canada. “There is a caring, compassionate and engaged team of staff and physicians who work collaboratively to provide care to advance the organization and support the patients in the community.”
