UPEI Health and Wellness Centre earns Accreditation Primer Award
On January 6, 2023, the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre earned a Primer Award from Accreditation Canada, making it the first university health centre in Canada to achieve this accreditation. The Primer Award is the first step in the journey to full accreditation and ensures that the centre has the fundamentals of safety and quality in place.
Before then, the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre had not had an external review of its services. Director Marilyn Barrett said that while she and her team were confident that they offer safe and high-quality services, they felt they needed an external review to ensure that they were not biased. Using Accreditation Canada allowed the centre to be surveyed against national standards and by its peers. They also derived benefits from the advice and education provided by Accreditation Canada throughout the process.
During the visit from December 5–8, 2022, a surveyor from Accreditation Canada met with various people and departments at UPEI including staff; Facilities Management; Security Services; Health, Safety, and Environment; Human Resources; and the UPEI Health and Wellness Quality team. The surveyor also met with patients of the Health and Wellness Centre as well as Barrett and Vice-President Administration and Finance Jackie Podger whose office oversees the centre.
“Throughout the review, the surveyor was able to see the Health and Wellness Centre living their values and ensuring that important foundational protocols had been developed and are being followed,” said Barrett. “Helpful suggestions for improvement were offered, and the experience was very positive for the team and partners.”
Barrett added that she is proud of the work of her team because they were granted permission to proceed directly to full accreditation within the next 24 months without having to make any changes to the safety and quality protocols they currently have in place. They will have the survey to achieve full accreditation in December 2024.
“This award is a significant recognition of the quality services that our UPEI Health and Wellness team provides,” said Podger. “We are very proud of the work Marilyn and her team do and applaud this accomplishment. It is obvious that this team demonstrates leadership and a high level of accountability to the UPEI campus community, resulting in UPEI being the first university in Canada to achieve this important accreditation.”
