Carewest places a high value on striving to provide quality care and services to our residents, clients, their families and staff. Staff are encouraged to identify and make improvements in processes and practices that support excellent care for our residents and clients.
Creating and promoting a culture of safety is a cornerstone of our commitment to quality improvement. That’s why, at Carewest, a ‘culture of safety’ is an organizational commitment that serves to guide how we approach our work, how we care for our residents and clients, and how we look out for each other.
Carewest’s Quality Councils discuss and develop best practice in clinically focused areas. These councils bring together staff across our programs and services to develop initiatives and share knowledge, all with the aim of encouraging positive change throughout the organization. Many successes that benefit the quality of care of Carewest clients and residents have come out of Quality Councils in the following targeted areas:
- Skin and Wound care
- Continence
- Falls Reduction and Injury Prevention
- Medication Safety
These councils bring staff together from across our sites and programs to learn about best practices in the industry and standards requirements and how they apply to Carewest services. The committees also provide an opportunity for staff to learn about process improvements introduced at other sites to improve the indicators for that quality focus. They also identify needs for specific education for staff and even our residents and clients to keep everyone informed about the strategies we use for these areas of clinical practice.