Demystifying Accreditation (CE Version)

Overview

Accreditation is a process where an organization demonstrates that its programs and administrative structures meet an external set of evidence-based standards for quality and excellence. This session will feature an Accreditation Panel of CQI experts who will share tools, strategies, and lessons learned from their years of experience.

The panel will offer insights into the potential benefits and impact of pursuing accreditation for your organization, strategies for how to effectively prepare for an accreditation process, tips for how to facilitate a smooth site visit, and suggestions for successfully completing the process.

Panelists hold expertise in CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities), COA (Social Current/Council on Accreditation), EAGLE (Educational Assessment Guidelines Leading toward Excellence), and JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations).

The panel of experts will discuss the following:

• Roles and Responsibilities
• Documentation Requirements
• Site Visit Preparation
• How Accreditation Connects to CQI
• Post Accreditation

Objectives

1. Learn roles and responsibilities when it comes to accreditation.
   
2. Clarify what needs to go into prepping documentation for accreditation and strategies to make it easier to coordinate.
   
3. Learn how accreditation connects to continuous quality improvement (CQI).
4. Get direction for how to be ready for the reviewers, what to expect, and how make the process easier for a site visit.
5. Learn what achieving accreditation can mean to an organization.

Registration and CEU Information

• Register here for the CE version and earn 1.5 CEs on completion of the post-webinar quiz
• This listing is for those wanting CEs for LCSW/LSW and LCPC/LPC licenses.
• Please see the non-ce version if you do not need CEs
• The live webinar will be held September 27, 2024, from 10:00am - 11:30am
• Once registered, you will be able to access the course site to complete the Zoom registration to receive the link for the webinar.

Presenter: Anita Larson

Anita Larson is Vice President of Quality & Evaluation at Nexus Family Healing where she leads quality improvement, planning, and evaluation staff who support multiple agencies in five states, providing residential, outpatient, crisis stabilization and other behavioral health services. She also chairs the Nexus-Institutional Review Board and oversees compliance and risk management activities. She has been a county human services case worker, worked at the state level on federally-funded integrated data projects, was a research fellow at the University of Minnesota, and has provided planning, evaluation and analysis support to multiple sectors since the mid-1990s including child welfare, human services, public health, community corrections, and education. She holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN.

Presenter: Lara Raper

Lara Raper has been a member of the Quality Improvement department since 2014, serving as the Vice President since March 2021. She is a long term employee of The Baby Fold, coming up on her 33rd year anniversary. She began her journey working in the Residential Treatment Center, then to the Adoption, Pregnancy Counseling and Post Adoption program. Her experience has moved from direct service, to supervisory, to manager and now to administration. Lara received her Bachelor of Science – Psychology from the University of Illinois and then her master’s degree in psychology from Illinois State University. As the Vice President of Quality Improvement, Lara oversees quality improvement processes in the agency, provides frequent report outs of actions taken/progress made, leads accreditation related activities, and supports implementation of best practice. She coordinates the creation, review and revision of agency policies and procedures, including implementation of the agency’s Quality Improvement Plan. Lara works across the agency, across departments and programs with teams regarding quality improvement, compliance activities, best practices, and accreditation activities, as a few examples. She frequently shares her knowledge, experience and expertise with agency staff, students, and other professionals. Currently, Lara is a mentor with a member of the CQI community in Missouri and meets bi-weekly to grow her mentee’s knowledge and skills in quality improvement. Lara is a member of the Continuous Quality Improvement Community, serving on the Steering Committee for the annual CQI Conference, and the sub-committees of Budget/Logistics and Special Events. She remains highly committed to doing her best to build positive lives and futures for the clients we serve, the employees we work with, for the agency and for those in need of help, love, and healing to become happy, healthy, and whole!

Presenter: Wendy Patterson

Wendy Patterson, MSW, MPA, EdD, has worked in Human Services for over 25 years, and currently works at Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska as the AVP of Performance and Quality Improvement. Wendy has been a volunteer with the Council on Accreditation for 14 years and serves as a Peer Reviewer, Team Leader, and Commissioner. Wendy Patterson has worked in Human Services for over 25 years, with experience working with early childhood programs all the way to senior programming. She has a background in direct service but has primarily focused on administrative aspects for the past 14 years. Wendy currently works at Lutheran Family Services, which is a multi-service organization providing services across Nebraska and other Midwest locations, as the Assistant Vice President of Performance and Quality Improvement. She is passionate about work that assists in providing a strong foundation so that those providing direct service are supported through strong quality improvement processes. She has an educational background that includes a Master’s in Social Work, a Master’s in Public Administration, and a Doctorate of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership. Wendy has been a volunteer with the Council on Accreditation (COA) for 14 years and serves as a Peer Reviewer, Team Leader, and Commissioner. She enjoys the review process and seeing the great work that is occurring across the field. In her spare time, Wendy loves watching movies and traveling, and often combines the two passions by visiting film locations during her travels.

Presenter: Jamie Riojas

Jamie Riojas is the Chief Administrative Officer at EmberHope. EmberHope is a non-profit organization located in Wichita, Kansas that provides Clinical, Case Management, Foster Care, and Residential services for children and families. Jamie originally joined EmberHope in 2002, working case management. Jamie transitioned to the Quality Management Department in 2007 and has been involved in performance improvement positions ever since. After a brief hiatus working family preservation in the Quality Department at Saint Francis Ministries, she rejoined the agency in 2014. Jamie has held a variety of quality roles before being promoted to oversee Human Resources, Training, and Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement in effort to streamline processes for both clients served and employees. Jamie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Wichita State University.