At Carewest, we strive to achieve the best results for our residents, clients, volunteers, families and staff. As we grow, we continue to learn how best to achieve those results. Carewest uses several different tools to measure and monitor our services to ensure they are continuously improved. For example, quality-care indicators and performance measures are a means of measuring the quality of care provided to our residents and allows Carewest to determine potential areas of improvement. They takes into account various factors such as the number of resident falls, the number of falls resulting in fractures and the number of employee incidents.
Please see below for some of our regular performance measurement tools and their results.
Accreditation
Carewest participates with Capital Care, Calgary Lab Services and Alberta Health Services in a combined Accreditation Canada survey process. This means that we have surveys on different years focusing on different standards. We were surveyed for long-term care standards in 2017, Rehabilitation Standards in 2016 and Leadership, IP&C standards in 2014. Our next survey schedule includes Leadership in 2019 followed by LTC, Rehabilitation, Infection Prevention and Control as well and Medication Management standards in 2021. Despite the length of time between surveys, we are committed to staying current on standards and working to improve processes whether or not it is a survey year.
Although the survey only involves a sample of Carewest sites for a focused set of standards, Carewest is committed to the Accreditation process as a measure of quality assurance and quality improvement. Carewest does not only prepare the targeted site for the survey but looks at how the standards are met more broadly across the organization. If steps are implemented to improve compliance to standards, we determine applicability across the organization and then roll those measures out.
When service standards, such as long-term care, are reviewed for a survey, all Carewest sites, regardless of their participation in the survey, will complete the self-assessment to help inform our Quality Improvement plan for the upcoming year.
Partners in Injury Reduction (PIR)
Carewest is involved with the Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) program and has achieved a Certificate of Recognition since 2003. The PIR program is a joint initiative between Alberta Health, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), Industry Partners such as the Continuing Care Safety Association (CCSA) and employers who participate with the goal of reducing injuries and improving safety. A Certificate of Recognition (COR) is awarded to employers who meet the program standards during the three year cycle of audits and/or action plans.
The audit consists of 10 elements and achieved the following scores:
| Management Leadership and Organizational Commitment | 92% |
| Hazard Assessment | 91% |
| Hazard Control | 88% |
| H&S Committees | 71% |
| Qualifications, Orientation and Training | 83% |
| Other visitors at the worksite | 100% |
| Inspections | 60% |
| Emergency Response | 67% |
| Incident Investigation | 78% |
| System Administration | 100% |
Carewest will be busy preparing for the next PIR external audit scheduled for 2024.
Staff Experience Survey
At Carewest, staff are our most important resource. We survey staff annually on key areas of focus – overall experience, leadership, communication, education, teams, client safety and staff safety. Our last survey, administered in early 2021, saw 37.1% staff respond and give us strong feedback that indicates we are supporting our staff well. 97.7% of our staff are proud of the work that they do and 91.9% would recommend Carewest as a good place to work.
What will Carewest do with the results of the survey?
We take feedback from our stakeholders seriously and each staff survey always provides opportunities for us to do more in-depth analysis of specific indicators and learn more about how we can improve work life at Carewest. This year, we focused our attention on leadership and communication, two key areas that are very important to staff and management. This work has informed the past business plan as well as being used for future efforts such as introducing LEADS training.
Long-term Care Resident Experience Survey
Because quality is driven by client perceptions, Carewest uses a variety of surveys to collect information and inform improvement initiatives. The Long-term care and Supportive Living resident survey happens every two years. All residents who are able to participate are encouraged to give their feedback through 1:1 interviews with hired surveyors.
Click here to read a summary of the survey.
Even though the feedback from the Survey shows that residents would recommend Carewest to someone who needs care and that they feel safe at their sites, there is always room for improvement. The information gathered informs site-specific initiatives as each resident population is a bit different than the others, whether by age grouping, environment, diagnoses or a combination of all of these.
We also receive Carewest site-specific reports from the Health Quality Council of Alberta family survey that happens every 2-3 years. You can check out the HQCA website for more information on their surveys and measurement processes.
Rehabilitation and Recovery Programs Client Experience Survey
Clients who stay at any of our subacute programs also have the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience. Surveys are offered at the time of discharge to clients and their families. The survey results are compiled quarterly and distributed back to the programs for their review and response when there are opportunities identified for improvement.
Click here to read a summary of the survey
If you have recently been in one of our programs and would like to provide your feedback but did not receive a copy of this survey to complete, please click here and complete the survey online.
Community Programs Client Experience Survey
Carewest recognizes that one of the most valuable sources of information as to how our programs are functioning is the clients who have received our services. Each Carewest community program provides an opportunity for clients to provide feedback. For some programs, surveys are delivered through Carewest, while for others they are delivered by other program stakeholders. In light of the differences in the programs, some survey clients at the time of discharge and others survey clients on an annual basis. The community survey results are delivered in a quarterly report card that will capture feedback from all programs at least once over the course of a year. These survey results are distributed back to the programs for their review. This information is valuable as programs identify areas that they would like to target for improvement as well as areas where they are performing well and can share their processes with other programs.
Click here to read a summary of the survey results
If you have recently been in one of our community programs and would like to provide your feedback but did not receive the opportunity, please contact Jeanine Kimura, Director of Operations, Quality & Performance to determine how you can participate in sharing feedback around your experience.
Phone: 403-943-8141
e-mail: [email protected]
Balanced Scorecard
A Balanced Scorecard is a strategic performance management tool used to monitor and report on key areas of organizational performance.
Carewest’s Balanced Scorecard takes into account the following dimensions:
- Value
- Utilization of services
- Satisfaction of residents and families
- Service
- Staff attendances
- How well our specialized services being used
- People and Innovation
- Staff satisfaction
- Investment in tools and technology
