If you’ve been looking for a place to have the best senior living experience and receive any necessary care from one of the most qualified providers, consider making an Episcopal Retirement Homes community your home.
This past year, the service and care we provide at three of our communities—Deupree House, Deupree House Skilled Nursing Cottages, and Marjorie P. Lee— were certified by an independent organization of outside examiners. All of these Episcopal Retirement Homes communities received the highest level of accreditation possible by meeting internationally recognized organizational and program standards from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC).
CARF-CCAC is an independent nonprofit accreditor of health and human services that sets the standards for excellence in the senior living and care industry.
Rigorous Accreditation Procedures Guarantee Quality
Achieving accreditation requires a lot of work from a retirement community. Any senior care provider wishing to be certified must commit to quality in all areas of service.
The accreditation process begins with an internal examination of service programs and business practices to insure that operations can meet the needs of those being served.
Following the operational review, a team of industry experts selected by CARF conducts an on-site survey where providers must demonstrate conformity to a series of rigorous and internationally recognized care standards.
After the on-site inspection of the communities under survey, the accreditation surveyors file a written report on the provider’s strengths and areas for improvement with the CARF organization. The CARF then awards accreditation based on the results of the survey. If a provider has sufficiently demonstrated its conformance to the standards, it earns CARF accreditation.
ERH Communities Are Setting the Bar High
For Episcopal Retirement Homes, accreditation was a year-long process that required months of self evaluation. At the end of the process, we had conformed ourselves to the rigorous CARF standards in all aspects of our communities, and we received our certification not long after the on-site surveyors finished their inspections of our communities.
“The surveyors were particularly impressed with our deep commitment to person-centered care,” said Laura Lamb, our Vice President of Residential Housing and Healthcare and leader of the accreditation process for all three ERH communities. “And they really held us up as a model for the nation in that regard.”
Accreditation demonstrates a provider's commitment to continuously improve service quality and to focus on the satisfaction of the persons served. Lamb likens the accreditation to winning the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award on a corporate level or getting a Consumer Reports’ “Best Buy” designation or a Good Housekeeping “Seal of Approval” on the consumer level. It is evidence of excellence.
“This is an exciting achievement for us,” said Lamb. “While we’ve always known our programs for seniors are of the highest quality, this accreditation demonstrates to potential residents and their families that we are accountable and that we are committed to excellence in our programs and service to our residents.”
CARF-CCAC accreditation is only awarded to those organizations that meet high standards in program quality, treatment of residents and clients and business practices. The services at Marjorie P. Lee, Deupree House and Deupree Cottages have been officially accredited for a five-year period— this signifies approval at the highest level that a community can receive.
Our communities will undergo a review and re-accreditation in 2017, and we’re confident that the process will show that Episcopal Retirement Homes continues to be a leader in service to seniors in the Cincinnati area.
