Health Care Excellence

April 2012 - Halton Healthcare Services is Highest Rated GTA Hospital

Please read the April 4, 2012 Toronto Star article by Megan Ogilvie and Theresa Boyle Health Reporters, for a full report on the latest data released by the Canadian Institue for Health Information (CIHI).

July 2010 - Halton Healthcare gets full accreditation

In July 2010 Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) was awarded full accreditation and recognized for three leading practices by Accreditation Canada.

Surveyors from Accreditation Canada spent four days in May 2010 meeting with HHS staff, physicians, volunteers, board members, community partners and patients to determine if HHS met the high standards for accreditation. The standards examine all aspects of health care, from patient safety and ethics, to staff training and partnering with the community.

HHS met 97 per cent of Accreditation Canada’s criteria.

“We are thrilled with the results of the survey,” said Mags Shorey, chair of HHS board of directors, in a press release. “HHS is an exemplary organization and it is very rewarding to receive this recognition from Accreditation Canada.  It speaks volumes about the quality of care that is provided at our hospital by our staff, physicians and volunteers.”

HHS said they have already started to address the areas noted as requiring further attention in the final accreditation report, which include space and overcrowding, medication practices and the implementation of the ethics framework.

The surveyors also recognized HHS for three leading practices: safe elder care, positive patient identification and caring rounds.

HHS’s Safe Elder Care program included falls prevention, use of least restraints and skin and wound care initiatives. In 2009 HHS become the first non-teaching community hospital in Ontario to receive the Nurses Improving Care of Healthsystem Elders designation.

The Positive Patient Identification lab was launched to help reduce the potential for errors that can occur when managing lab specimens. HHS introduced barcode technology in 2007, becoming the first Canadian hospital to implement an electronic system.

The Caring Rounds program began in 2009 as a collaborative effort between patients and families, healthcare teams and volunteers as a strategy to address the immediate needs of patients and enhance patient satisfaction.