The North Shore Disability Resource Centre is pleased to announce the completion of a very successful accreditation process. After three days of a Site Survey we celebrated our success on Friday, April 23, 2004 at the Seymour Golf and Country Club, with more than 80 of the people we support, friends, family, staff and others. 

After 18 months of extremely hard work and then three days of scrutiny, visiting and interviewing during the Site Survey, we awaited the Exit Conference with baited breath. The many wonderful things the CARF Surveyors said about our agency touched all of our hearts.

They appreciated how welcoming we were and found everyone to very open and willing to discuss. They greatly appreciated the very hard work that had gone into the preparation. It made their jobs so much easier. They rarely see an agency where everyone seemed to know the standards. They said it was unusual to have so few recommendations for a first site survey (we received only 10). They appreciated our openness and sincerity. 

They commented on our commitment to quality, our teamwork and our dedication to service delivery. They described our environment as being based on mutual respect of each other and of the people we support, families and friends, that there is excellent rapport amongst everyone.

 They were impressed with the overwhelming satisfaction expressed by everyone they interviewed. There is good organizational understanding of our mission and values. Our services are driven by family members.

Our Board of Directors is very dedicated to the association.  The number of people on the board who have a disability is impressive.  There is a high level of leadership, advocacy and inclusion. 

Our buildings and homes are pleasant and safe. We have an excellent safety process which is an area where there are usually many recommendations. We collaborate well with other organizations and have a very good image in our community.   

These were the important things we heard. More important than if we passed or failed, or how many recommendations or suggestions we received. We managed to convey the warm, caring and respectful culture of the agency and for that we should all be proud. 

In 8-10 weeks we will receive a report from CARF, summarizing what we were told at the Exit Conference. At that point we will receive the three year accreditation certification we are certain we have achieved. Within 90 days, we submit a Performance Improvement Plan outlining how we plan to address the 10 recommendations we were given. 

To thank everyone who was involved with the Accreditation process at the NSDRC would take both sides of this paper. It would be all of the people we support, their families and friends, all of our staff, our board, our funders, our volunteers, our community, our colleagues and many others.  

Many, many thanks to each and everyone one of you for your involvement in the process and for your commitment to seeing it through to such a successful completion!

Questions please contact:

Margot Beauchamp, Accreditation Manager

Direct:  604-904-4087

E-mail:  m.beauchamp@nsdrc.org