Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS) recently announced that it has received a 3-year accreditation for its Case Management for Long-Term Services and Supports from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. The accreditation is awarded only after an intensive review of documented processes, data collection and analyses, and reports, culminating in a site audit of sampled case coordination files by an NCQA representative. The process, which resulted in the prestigious and nationally recognized accreditation for excellence in care coordination, spanned approximately 15 months. GLSS received a score of 100% on the site audit portion of the review. A renewal will be sought in 2022.
“Our staff do many things during an average day that are considered ‘best practice,’ and this accreditation will ensure that not only our consumers but also funders and other stakeholders know this as well,” stated Paul T. Crowley, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer. GLSS, a $75 million nonprofit, employs 580 including more than 100 social workers, case managers, nurses, and support staff who help coordinate long-term services and supports (LTSS) to help people remain living independently, safely and with dignity, in the community settings of their choice. LTSS support people in problem-solving and decision-making around the social determinants of health and include a wide variety of supports from assistive devices and personal care to education/training and access to better nutrition and housing, for example—all of which can have a positive impact on improving health outcomes.
“This type of accreditation for specific programs will likely become a requirement for agencies like GLSS in the future, so we wanted to be proactive about securing it,” said Eileen Burk, Director of Outcomes Evaluation at GLSS, who, working with a cross-functional team of over 20 staff (some of whom are pictured above), oversaw the accreditation process, which focused on the agency’s Home Care, Senior Care Options (SCO), and Adult Foster Care departments.
“I thought the process, while rigorous, was very helpful in allowing GLSS to articulate how the work we do is truly person-centered,” said Holly Jarrell-Marcinelli, Director of Consumer Services at GLSS. “It allowed us to put in writing the practices we have followed for years and to better demonstrate their effectiveness.” The process also offered opportunities to enhance policies and procedures, create manuals, and provide training to existing staff, which has been incorporated into the agency’s new employee training program for case managers. “I was very proud of the ease with which our staff incorporated necessary changes and the commitment they continue to show to providing the highest quality case management and services to our consumers,” Jarrell-Marcinelli noted.
GLSS is the Aging Services Access Point and Area Agency on Aging providing assistance to people age 60 and older, adults of all ages living with disabilities, and their families and caregivers in Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus, and Swampscott. To learn more, visit www.glss.net.
NCQA is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to assessing and reporting on the quality of managed care plans, managed behavioral healthcare organizations, preferred provider organizations, new health plans, physician organizations, credentials verification organizations, disease management programs, and other health-related programs. To learn more, visit www.ncqa.org.