The Accreditation Process
Any public health agency that meets the criteria outlined
in the Accreditation Documents may
apply by following the preparatory steps indicated in the documents and by
submitting the completed forms along with the Accreditation
fee.
Preparation for accreditation varies according to which
standards are met by the agency when it first begins preparations and
ranges from 1-2 years.
All applications for accreditation are reviewed by the
Principles and Standards Committee of the OCCHA Board of Directors. Based
on a review of the application, public health agencies are either
considered ready for an accreditation survey or are encouraged to prepare
themselves for re-application at a later date.
Surveys are scheduled within 90 days of acceptance of the
application (unless this deadline is extended by mutual agreement).
Surveys are conducted by experience public health professionals specially
trained as surveyors (see also Information for Surveyors).
Survey Teams
Survey teams are comprised of a Senior Surveyor, 2-3
trained surveyors, 1-2 apprentice surveyors and the Executive Director.
The size of the survey team is determined by the size and scope of the
public health agency.
Length of an Accreditation Survey
Accreditation surveys require 3 full days and are
generally conducted from Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday. The
purpose of the survey is to evaluate the agency’s degree of compliance
with the OCCHA principles and standards by gathering information from:
-
The Agency Questionnaire (completed by the Agency and
submitted with the application form);
-
The review of evidence/documentation on-site, and
-
The interview of staff members and representatives of
local community agencies.
Surveyor worksheets are completed by the members of the
survey team upon completion of an accreditation survey. These worksheets
contain the findings, commendations, suggestions, recommendations and
requirements of the surveyors relative to the review of documents and the
interview of staff members and community agency representatives. The
report is submitted to OCCHA within two weeks of the completion of the
survey.
A complete outline of the elements of an accreditation
survey can be found in the Surveyor Manual for an Accreditation Survey in
the section Information for Surveyors.
The Accreditation Award
In
consideration of OCCHA’s work to support continuous quality
improvement, through the development and implementation of a
quality framework for public health units, the OCCHA Board
of Directors has formally approved a standardized
accreditation process and award implemented in January 2009.
The standardized accreditation process is based on a three
year cycle, includes an annual review component, and is
linked to the OCCHA quality framework for public health
units. The accreditation process is streamlined
to facilitate ongoing participation in the process, through
the development of documentation checklists and enhanced web
pages for accredited health units. An accreditation
process working group was organized to develop the protocols
and tools for the standardized accreditation process,
including updates to the on-site survey review. Their
recommendations were presented to the OCCHA Board of
Directors and approved in July, 2008.
A comprehensive report is provided to the agency outlining
the findings and resulting requirements, recommendations, suggestions and
commendations.
Appeal Process
Each agency is given 14 days within notification of the
accreditation award and report to file its intention to appeal the
findings of an accreditation survey. The documentation for such an appeal
must be submitted within 34 days of the agency’s receipt of the report.
If an appeal is received, the OCCHA Board of Directors will meet with the
representatives of the agency to discuss the supporting argument for the
appeal. The OCCHA Board of Directors will meet to review the evidence
presented and will prepare a final report. The decision of the OCCHA Board
of Directors is final.
The Accreditation Certificate
The accreditation award is presented as a certificate to
be displayed and viewed by the public and is considered the property of
OCCHA. Should an accredited agency fail to abide by the Terms and
Conditions of Accreditation, the certificate shall be withdrawn.
Accreditation Fees
Effective January 1, 2011,
the yearly accreditation
fee has been increased to $6,800. This increase reflects the actual costs associated with the
expansion and ongoing implementation of the revised accreditation program,
Advancing Quality in Public Health, which was introduced in January
2010. In addition to the review and revision of the accreditation
documents, this new program includes the following enhancements:
·
The development and maintenance of
on-line surveys for Boards of Health, staff and community partners;
·
The development of an annual
reporting tools, including the agency questionnaire and annual summary
report;
·
The annual on-site accreditation
review, and
·
The expansion of the quality
framework towards the identification of quality indicators and attributes.
All fees are subject to HST.
Survey fees will be reviewed
annually.
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