Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore’s Home Care Program has been awarded accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
The state-funded Home Care program is one of the agency’s largest programs and serves an average of 4,300 consumers monthly. It supports older adults whose goal is to remain in a community setting, living as independently as possible. The National Committee awards the status of Accredited–Three years to organizations that demonstrate strong performance of the functions outlined in the standards for Case Management accreditation.
“Our Quality Team worked to prepare for NCQA accreditation over the last 24 months. Because of this enormous effort, we achieved a high score that equated to a three-year accreditation status,” said Elder Services CEO Joan Hatem-Roy. “The accreditation process has provided our organization with a framework that guides our quality improvement efforts and allows us to provide the highest quality service to the consumers we serve.”
Elder Services is one of a few organizations in Massachusetts with this type of accreditation. For consumers, the benefits of accreditation are a focus on person-centered services; reduction of errors and duplicated services; and improved communication and integration between individuals, caregivers, payer and providers.
Accreditation standards are developed with input from researchers in the field, the Case Management Expert Panel and standing committees, employers, both purchasers and operators of Case Management programs, state and federal regulators and other experts.