"Accreditation is about more than paper"---a true story

Over 30 years ago, when I was in the hospital business, I recall the tension of the whole organization as we prepared for accreditation. I knew nothing about it except that the budget category for photocopy expense was budgeted to double. The hospital administrator called a meeting in the auditorium, a very rare occurence, when all the key people in the organization could hear at the same time what was required. It was a short meeting.

The administrator began by noting that for some, this whole process might seem like just a lot of paperwork----but it was far more than that. It was essential that every employee of the organization knew what the proper procedures were, and knew why they were required. The inspectors could ask anyone a question about anything, and during the audit, each employee would respond. Training was an ongoing process, but it was essential to know before the audit that everybody was on the same page as to what was the paper procedure and the real procedure, and that they be IDENTICAL.

Accreditation was not just posing to be the best. It was about being the quality that we aimed for.

I never forgot that.