An accreditation mock survey is a valuable tool for senior living communities aiming to achieve or maintain high standards of care and operational excellence. This simulated evaluation replicates the formal accreditation process, helping organizations identify strengths and areas for improvement before the actual survey. The benefits of conducting a mock survey include:
Enhanced Readiness: Mock surveys familiarize staff with the accreditation survey process, reducing anxiety and improving confidence. This ensures teams are well-prepared for the real evaluation, leading to a smoother and more successful outcome.
Early Identification of Gaps: These surveys reveal compliance issues or areas where policies, procedures, or practices fall short of accreditation standards, allowing for timely corrective action.
Improved Quality of Care: By aligning operations with best practices and regulatory expectations, mock surveys help enhance resident safety, satisfaction, and overall quality of life.
Staff Education and Engagement: Participation in a mock survey fosters a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. It also provides practical learning experience for staff at all levels.
Operational Efficiency: The process often uncovers opportunities to streamline workflows, enhance documentation, and improve communication across departments.
Reputation and Competitive Advantage: Demonstrating proactive steps toward accreditation can boost the organization’s credibility with families, stakeholders, and regulators, strengthening trust and market position.
In summary, an accreditation mock survey is not just a preparatory exercise, it is a strategic investment in quality improvement and organizational excellence. Ask us about scheduling a mock survey with your team.
Learn more about us at www.achieveaccreditation.com
SambaCare, a New Jersey based Healthcare staffing firm, achieved a major industry milestone by earning Joint Commission Healthcare Staffing Certification on August 4th, 2023. SambaCare partners with health care organizations across the country to offer high quality staffing. The organization started their certification preparedness journey at the beginning of 2023.
“A lot of effort and energy goes into the process leading up to certification,” SambaCare's Chief Operating Officer Sam Zytman said. “This is something we can now proudly present to potential clients and exhibit on our website and in marketing materials.”
One of the biggest changes to the organization’s culture of quality and safety, Zytman said, was the credentialing process.
“We tightened all the screws and made sure everything was being adhered to with the strictest compliance standards, across all departments, whether it was HR, recruiting or staffing,” Zytman said.
The Joint Commission standards focus on quality and safety. The certification readiness process allowed SambaCare leaders to focus their efforts on new challenges as they embraced a companywide continuous quality improvement process.
The Joint Commission certification process holds organizations accountable to higher standards for both quality and safety. Zytman described the benefits in creating an improved performance evaluation tool so as to better assess employees and ensure the best care for patients and residents.
“It does require a lot of extra work, but the end result of the certification process allows you to feel more confident signing contracts with various high-level clients that you can fulfill their requirements.” Zytman said.
SambaCare is Achieve Accreditation’s first healthcare staffing client partner. Achieve Accreditation’s Vice Presidents Kristin Bratcher and Kerri Hackstock organized and led SambaCare’s certification readiness process.
“I am very excited about entering this new scope of work with healthcare staffing services (HCSS),” Hackstock said. “As agency staffing continues to grow in the industry, companies like SambaCare will make important strategic decisions to improve their safety and quality companywide. Joint Commission Certification was the best way for SambaCare to prove their quality by having third-party validation for their company with the nation's leader in quality, The Joint Commission.”
Jessica Prucha, BAJ is the Operations Manager and Brand Storyteller at Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation has helped skilled nursing providers and assisted living organizations to obtain and maintain their Joint Commission Accreditation for 35 years.
Ignite Medical Resorts Adams Parc was the first skilled nursing organization in the state of Oklahoma to earn the prestigious Joint Commission Accreditation award. The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest health care accrediting body. There has been a 70% national increase in skilled nursing organizations obtaining Joint Commission accreditation in the last five years.
Ignite Medical Resorts wants the best for their patients/residents, their staff, and their community. Obtaining Joint Commission accreditation for Ignite Medical Resorts Adams Parc was the most significant way they could demonstrate their strong commitment to quality, safety, and continuous quality improvement.
“Obtaining Joint Commission accreditation is the highest pinnacle of recognition in the skilled nursing industry,” CEO Tim Fields said. “This is the reason we chose to hold ourselves accountable to the highest expectations in the nation."
Ignite Medical Resorts Adams Parc leadership staff prepared for The Joint Commission survey over a period of six-months General Manager Revel Castillo-Simon and CNO Shelby Garrison said. The organization approached the accreditation process with the help of Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation guided Adams Parc leadership staff to focus on the standards that were most frequently surveyed and broke larger milestones into smaller goals.
Achieve Accreditation’s Senior Consultant Suzann Armstrong worked tirelessly with the leadership staff at Adams Parc to provide customized accreditation readiness resources and guidance. It was truly an interdisciplinary effort with all team members investing in the important task of improving all that they do.
“Suzann was at our fingertips the entire way through everything,” Castillo-Simon said. “She guided us on every single detail.”
One thing that surprised General Manager Castillo-Simon the most was the meticulous nature of both the standards and the survey process. The accreditation readiness process pushed the organization to complete tasks that had been long-standing on their “to do” list. The team also reported that the surveyor was very compassionate and truly invested in catching them doing something right rather than something wrong, helping them with suggestions to improve, and genuinely wanted the best for their organization. Staff reported that it is always stressful preparing for a survey and the unknowns of a survey experience, but that it was honestly the best survey they could have asked for.
Ignite Medical Resorts Adams Parc is taking their moment in the spotlight to celebrate this huge accomplishment. While staff catch their breath to celebrate, they are forward focused in fully embracing the power of the Joint Commission standards to supercharge their already existing organization quality improvement culture.
Kathleen O’Connor, MA is President & Founder of Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation has helped skilled nursing providers and assisted living organizations to obtain and maintain their Joint Commission Accreditation for over 30 years.