MAHC Echocardiography Program Achieves Accreditation

Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s (MAHC) Echocardiography program has met rigorous evidence-based accreditation standards to achieve certification from the CorHealth Ontario Echocardiography Quality Improvement Program.

Echocardiography is essentially an ultrasound of the heart and has been available at both hospitals for some time. Approximately 100 echocardiograms are done every month at each of MAHC’s sites, which demonstrates our communities’ growing need for heart-related diagnostics.

Recognizing the expanding role of Echocardiography across Ontario, the Ministry of Health introduced a six-step quality improvement Echocardiography accreditation program that includes policy and procedure review, a site visit, case reviews, and certification based on the Cardiac Care Network’s accreditation standards.

CEO Natalie Bubela says the certification confirms that MAHC adheres to evidence-based standards of practice in Echocardiography – from patient safety, infection control and privacy, to staff qualification, sufficient technical quality and study/report quality.

“For months, our Echocardiography team worked with our regional partner Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre to meet the standards associated with accreditation certification,” says Bubela. “Certificates of Achievement have been received for each site and demonstrate to the public, our patients and our team that we are following best-practice guidelines and that we value continuous learning and ongoing improvement to achieve high levels of quality. I’m so proud of our teams for achieving this certification.”