The Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre awarded accreditation by the prestigious "Joint International Commission"
- This is the first long-stay Care Centre in Spain focusing on Alzheimer’s that has gained this distinction, one that is considered as the global gold standard in care.
- The country has only another 33 centres which have this international accreditation, which include hospitals, primary and outpatient care centres.
The Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre has earned the prestigious accreditation of the “Joint International Commission” for the quality and safety of its management and user care services, achieving 97% of the requisite standards.
This public residence in the Madrid Community is managed by Clece Social Services. It is one of three long-term care residences in Spain, and is the first centre dedicated to Alzheimer’s that has earned this distinction, considered as the global gold standard in care. In Spain there are only another 33 centres that have this accreditation, including hospitals, primary care and outpatient centres. Of these, 5 organisations are located in the Madrid Community and include hospitals and outpatients care centres in addition to the Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre, the only one under public management.
Joint Commission International is the organisation charged with measuring, identifying and sharing best practice in care quality and patient safety across the world. Its experts in 90 countries work with hospitals and other health and care organisations across the world to achieve the best outcomes for patient care and support.
The Managing Director of the Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre, Cristina Rodriguez, commented, “We are very proud of having been recognised through this accreditation. It publicly demonstrates that the centre fulfils the most demanding requirements in terms of quality and highlights the work we do on a daily basis in order to offer care services focused on the person through the whole process, from their arrival at the organisation to the moment they leave”,
Certification involves evaluating all aspects of management and aligning all phases with best practice, driving efficiency and encouraging a culture of user safety in order to reduce risks around clinical and care processes. Measurement is against 239 standards containing 914 elements distributed across these and focused on the resident and the health organisation. In addition, it provides a single improvement project for directors and professionals that focuses on user care.
A Benchmark Centre for Alzheimer’s
The Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre, which this year celebrated its tenth anniversary, represents a benchmark in Alzheimer’s care. More than 650 patients with this illness have passed through the residence and day centre since its inauguration on 8th March, 2007. The illness is addressed simultaneously from three complementary angles: research, training, and care services for those affected.
One of the most notable aspect of the Reina Sofia Alzheimer Foundation Centre is that three areas fundamental to work on Alzheimer’s are located together within the same space: A Research Unit, called the CIEN Foundation (Center for Research into Neurological Diseases) which is managed through the Carlos III Health Institute. Ministry of the Economy and Competition: a Training Centre specialising in dementias,and a Care Centre comprising a permanent stay residency for 156 people and a day centre for 40 people, plus 20 places allocated for family respite, and managed by the Social and Family Department through the company Clece Social Services.