The Importance of Surveys
For those not already aware it is survey season at Bethany! Throughout the summer, Bethany survey teams and our Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) are asking long-term care and supportive living residents, their families, and housing tenants about their experiences at Bethany. This year the HQCA is surveying family members at most of our sites as part of the provincial survey that happens every 3 years. This year is special, though, because two of our sites are working directly with the HQCA survey team in piloting an electronic version of the survey that may influence how our province surveys families into the future. Very exciting!
Our family and housing surveys are typically mailed out. However, resident surveys are completed by specially trained, registered Bethany volunteers through one on one interviews. These interviews can take anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes. In 2013, 171 residents were surveyed, in 2015, 197 residents were surveyed and we are hoping to get more than 200 surveys completed this year. This represents well over 100 hours our volunteers are committing, which is equivalent to working full time for just over 2 ½ weeks.
Coordinating volunteer and site schedules require the support of many but the volunteer coordinators at each site really contribute to the overall success of surveys at their sites. This year’s surveys are going very smoothly in large part due to their efforts. I would like to extend a special thank you to the volunteer coordinators for all of their support and assistance with our survey process.
Improving quality of care through a resident and family care approach requires support and opportunities for active engagement of residents and families in decisions that affect their lives. Surveys are one way Bethany engages residents and families in a conversation about how we are doing and how to improve the quality of care and services across our sites. Families and residents welcome the chance to share their views about their care and relationships at Bethany and can be our strongest advocates in shaping the environment where care is delivered and the quality of care received. We each have a role to play in ensuring that they are strong advocates.
Survey results will be shared over the coming months with Bethany Leadership, the site Quality Safety Committees and Family Councils. I encourage each of you to take time to review the results and to consider how you can support the suggestions, ideas and recommendations that come forward through this process.
As always, I welcome any ideas or suggestions you may have. Please send them to me at nancy.hughes@bethanyseniors.com.
Regards,
– Nancy
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