Friday, January 26, 2007

BCI Provides Quality Care, Says Joint Commission

Brandywine Counseling received a surprise inspection from the Joint Commission during the last week and a half. This is a survey of the quality and safety of our treatment programs, using the same guidelines as major hospitals. They’re interested in how well we actually deliver critical health care services.

It used to be that the Joint Commission would give us advance notice of when the surveyors were coming. Recently, they introduced unannounced visits, so that health care organizations are truly accountable on a daily basis. This was the first of Brandywine’s unannounced visits.

How do we prepare for this? Our staff is committed to quality on a daily basis, from the internal audits we do as a self-check, to the relationships we build with each client in order to meet their individual needs. Still, we wonder how our efforts will be judged at survey time.

As it turns out, we had no reason to worry. The surveyors who visited the BCI Alpha, Newark and Lancaster sites had high praise for us. The list of positive comments was too long to mention here – the completeness of our patient records, our use of data to measure outcomes, our clients’ comments about us, and our innovative ideas for the future, just to name a few.

It’s gratifying to know that your organization is doing a good job. Congratulations to all the staff whose day-to-day work makes this possible.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Welcome!

Welcome to the Brandywine Counseling Blog. Here, our clients, our staff, and the community can find the latest news and happenings around our agency.

At BCI, we place great importance on listening to our clients. Our treatment services exist to serve the needs of Delawareans addicted to alcohol or drugs. Staying attuned to these needs helps us provide the best possible service. Likewise, we want to hear from members of community who are concerned about addiction, HIV/AIDS, and related issues.

Please feel free to leave us a comment on what you read here. We're listening!