8 Questions to Ask When Starting on the Road to Accreditation

I am often approached by people who are just beginning on the road to national accreditation and have no idea where to start. Our conversations tend to follow a similar path, including which accrediting body they should work with (read here for 10 Steps to Selecting an Accrediting Body).

As part of our conversations, I often ask them questions to consider when planning for accreditation. I thought it would be helpful to share them with you here:

  1. Do I know how to best “sell” accreditation to my board of directors and staff? (click here for a video with tips) https://accreditationguru.com/how-best-sell-accreditation/
  2. What policies and procedures need to be written or updated to map to both the accreditation and licensing standards and current operations?
  3. All staff trained on procedures pertaining to emergency response preparedness and infection control and safety?
  4. Would it be helpful to conduct a mock survey? If so, who will complete it?
  5. Do we have documented stakeholder input in our quality improvement and risk management efforts? Do we even have quality improvement and risk management programs in place??
  6. Do our facilities need improvements to pass an accreditation survey? Yes, facilities are still reviewed during a virtual survey.
  7. Who will be our Accreditation Coordinator and who will be part of the Accreditation Team?
  8. Do we need assistance from an outside consultant to bring in expertise with our selected accrediting body, help streamline the accreditation process and provide much needed project management? Accreditation Guru is here to help!

Wishing you all the best on your accreditation journey! Please contact us with any questions or to explore assistance options.