Alliston, Ontario (October 13, 2010)—Stevenson Memorial Hospital (Stevenson) is pleased to announce that it recently was awarded Full Accreditation by Accreditation Canada. This is the highest level of recognition awarded by the council’s Board of Directors, which assesses an organization’s commitment to safe, quality care based on a standard of excellence. In 2009, only 30% of participating hospital in Canada achieved Full Accreditation status. .

The 3-day intensive onsite evaluation showed favourable findings and commended the hospital on the “strong committed board, and management, staff, physicians and volunteers.” Accreditation Canada also praised the hospital for their “strong emphasis on community relations and patient satisfaction.”

Accreditation Canada reported the hospital’s commitment to quality care is evident through the recent introduction of Hardwiring Excellence and Lean, two corporate initiatives that are aimed at improving customer service and efficient quality care to patients.

“We are a small community hospital that is growing by leaps and bounds. This recognition is truly a testament to our dedicated staff, physicians and volunteers,” said Gary Ryan., President and CEO at Stevenson. “Each and every one of us has worked hard to reach this prestigious recognition and we will continue to work even harder to maintain and improve our level of care for our patients and the communities we serve.”

As part of the Hospital’s commitment to ongoing improvement, Stevenson actively participates in a management services agreement with Southlake Regional Health Centre, a 370-bed acute care facility in Newmarket. Accreditation Canada noted that this agreement “allows the organization to tap into the appropriate expertise to advance the hospital’s vision and position with the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).”

“Our Board is committed to providing the highest standard of management and will continue to develop new and more effectives ways to serve the hospital,” said Gary Ryan, acknowledging that improvements still need to be made. “Our community is one of our largest assets and we are finding better ways to build and maintain this relationship.”

Accreditation Canada is a not-for-profit, independent organization that provides national and international health and social service organizations with an external peer review to assess the quality of their services based on standards of excellence. Accredited by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), Accreditation Canada's programs and guidance have been helping thousands of organizations strive for excellence since 1958.