Thursday, September 15, 2011

Baycrest leads Canada in patient safety and quality care, experts confirm


photo credit: molsonblog via Flickr

TORONTO, September 14, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ -Baycrest has been ranked in the top eight per cent of all Canadian health-care organizations in delivering excellence in care, patient safety and corporate operations by Accreditation Canada, the nation's leading independent surveyor of health-care organizations.

Following a recent and intensive on-site review, where surveyors spent three days examining all aspects of Baycrest's care and operations, the organization not only received Accreditation Canada's highest honour - Full Accreditation - it fulfilled 100 per cent of the required organizational practices.

In addition, Baycrest met an exceptional 99.6 per cent of the 1,400 designated accreditation standards set out by the surveyors- a tremendous achievement, not only in the field of aging, but in the entire Canadian health-care sector.

"Accreditation Canada applies rigour to its review process to ensure organizations are meeting the standards required by Canadians," said Wendy Nicklin, president and CEO of Accreditation Canada. "The success with accreditation at Baycrest shows the remarkable commitment of the leadership and staff to ongoing quality improvement on behalf of the people it serves and the lives it touches."


In addition to this top Canadian ranking, three of Baycrest's innovative programs and services were singled out by Accreditation Canada as "leading" for the country and setting the bar for excellence in a specific health-care field, and contributing to the overall betterment of health care in Canada. They are:

...Baycrest's unique caregiver services, which include a range of evidence-based programs that educate, counsel and connect family caregivers. Research shows that family members provide 80 per cent of care to seniors in the community, but too often are ill-equipped to effectively attend the needs of aging relatives living at home.

...The innovative Acute Care Transition Unit, which provides round-the-clock specialized care to seniors with sub-acute or chronic conditions, reducing emergency room and acute care hospital admissions and providing better access to treatment for seniors. Since 2009, the program has diverted 1,239 emergency room visits and has saved the Ontario health-care system an estimated $9.3 million.

...A specific practice on the Acute Care Transition Unit that reduces the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, a common and potentially serious infection often acquired in hospitals. Baycrest's leading infectious disease practices have reduced the transmission of MRSA by 89 per cent over the course of a six-month study on the unit.

"Our Accreditation results clearly show that Baycrest's dedication to performance excellence is unrelenting," says Dr. Bill Reichman, president and CEO of Baycrest. "We lead Canada in the provision of high quality care, service and the development of highly specialized, innovative programs focused on aging."


In addition to now being one of Canada's top rated health-care organizations, providing leading practice and a comprehensive system of care for aging patients, Baycrest is also home to the Rotman Research Institute (RRI). The RRI is ranked by an international panel of scientists as the best in the world for its cognitive neuroscience efforts in memory and aging.

"The Rotman Research Institute has firmly established itself as the leading research institution in the field of memory and aging," said Robert T. Knight, chair of the external review panel and director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California-Berkeley. "The scientists at the Rotman are very highly regarded and the senior scientists are among the most distinguished in the world."


Baycrest's Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging is home to the greatest number of trainees of any leading institution focused on aging and offers a wide-range of provincial, national and international educational programs for students, staff, clients, families and caregivers, and the general public.

According to Dr. Reichman, this combination of world-class care, research and education makes Baycrest unique not just in Canada but around the world.

In the Accreditation report, the surveyors specifically highlighted:

...Baycrest's strength as an academic and research-focused organization;

...Its commitment to quality and safety;

...Its new strategic plan which gives a clear direction for the future of the organization;

...Its commitment to hearing the voices of those it serves;

...Its physical environment;

...Its communication with stakeholders;

...Its community partners who are consistently positive about their relationship with Baycrest;

...Its heritage, which is very important within the organization;

...Its diverse workforce.

Headquartered on a 22-acre campus in Toronto, Ontario and fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest is the global leader in developing and providing innovations in aging and brain health.


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