This past month, our Fresno office was surveyed and received CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Partner) accreditation! At Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care, we are very excited about our passing grade.
In order to provide hospice care to patients, we must be accredited by a regulatory agency. CHAP—which is a joint venture between the American Public Health Association and the National League of Nursing—ensures that community and home-based health care organizations (like Ardent) are providing high-quality patient care. CHAP is a national, independent, U.S. not-for-profit accrediting body for community-based health care organizations that is also approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as an accrediting authority.
CHAP has reviewed everything we’ve done in the last two years (since opening our Fresno location) and they have deemed that we are qualified to continue providing quality care to patients in the Fresno area. We’ve officially met their guidelines and standards; here’s what that means for our patients and families.
CHAP Requirements
The survey happens every two years. A CHAP representative visits our office to certify that we’re meeting their Standards of Excellence in giving supportive care to patients on hospice services.
The goal of a CHAP survey is to help us set standards for health and safety, meet the holistic needs of our patients, strengthen our internal operations, and continually look for ways and areas to improve our services; and by passing, it gives our patients and their families confidence in knowing they’re choosing an accredited agency.
We know roughly the time frame when we will be surveyed, but we’re not given a definitive date; this is so when CHAP does visit, they’re getting a true look at how we operate. The representative will spend a day observing our office practices; they examine our employee files, patient charts, emergency preparedness plans, and interview different members of our administrative team.
Typically, on another day, the surveyor will actually go out with our nurses, LVNs, certified home health aides (CHHAs), spiritual chaplain, and social worker. Of course, we ask the patient’s permission to have a third-party sit in on their visit, and with their consent, the CHAP representative then accompanies our team member and oversees every aspect of the care administered. They pay close attention to everything from sterilization techniques and the patient’s comfort levels, to interaction with family members and the way our caregiver manages and administers medication.
On the final day of the survey, they share our results. They surveyor lets us know the areas we excelled and the areas where there may be room for improvement. On this day, our team also shares a goal sheet with the representative, with our own vision for our company, patient care and growth.
Our Results
As expected Ardent Fresno passed with flying colors. Our patients can know for certain we’ve met and surpassed all the caregiving standards laid out before us.
The results of this survey are motivating us to do even better next time around as we continue to look for ways to go above and beyond the basic hospice service requirements.
What’s It Mean for the Ardent Network?
Many of our patients have already experienced our stellar services, and they know we’re always willing to go the extra mile to ensure their comfort and happiness. The CHAP survey just confirms the high level of care and dedication we strive to give our patients every day.
While this CHAP survey was just for our Fresno location, each office—in Palm Springs, San Diego, and now Delano—upholds the same standards. Our results serve as a guideline for all our locations to keep us accountable for staying true to our own beliefs and mission.
CHAP accreditation is essential to our operation, but at Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care we believe in going above and beyond the basic standards. We take the responsibility of being a patient’s care provider and a family’s support very seriously. For more information about the ways Ardent can provide exceptional care and comfort to your loved one at any one of our four California locations, visit our website or call us at (559) 408-5945.
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