Together with our affiliate Health Standards Organization (HSO), Accreditation Canada inspires people to make positive change that improves the quality of health and social services in Canada and around the world.

Accreditation Canada delivers a wide range of high-impact assessment programs for health and social service organizations, powered by HSO, and customized to local needs. Accreditation Canada works with more than 900 expert peer surveyors with extensive health care and social services experience and trained in Accreditation Canada’s customized, continuous assessment program.

For more than 60 years, Accreditation Canada has been working with health, social and community service organizations to advance quality and safety.

HSO develops world-class evidence-based standards, assessment programs and quality improvement solutions.

HSO has been recognised as a Standard Development Organization (SDO) by the Standards Council of Canada which imposes a rigorous and public process in developing standards. HSO is the only SDO in Canada and around the world solely focused on developing evidence-based health and social service standards.

HSO has more than 120 consensus-based standards and evidence-based assessment methodologies designed to accommodate multiple health and social service levels, environments, communities, cultures and languages.

Together, HSO and Accreditation Canada work with governments, regional health authorities, hospitals, and community-based programs and services in both the private and public sectors.

We are present in more than 12,500 locations in over 40 countries, including all 13 Canadian provincial and territorial health jurisdictions each serving populations with wide-ranging needs.

We leverage this unparalleled experience, understanding and knowledge to create flexible, integrated assessment models covering the full spectrum of health services – from large networks and health systems to long-term care, small home care, community health centres and primary care organizations.

We strongly believe that our person-centered philosophy will transform health care. We have more than 410 patients, providers, practitioners, experts and policy makers participating actively in our standard development technical committees and scientific advisory councils. Our People Powered Health philosophy brings different perspectives, experiences, learnings and insights together to foster positive change and continuous quality improvement.

Accreditation Canada and HSO are independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations that meet extensive third-party accreditation requirements from the Standards Council of Canada, the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) and the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC).

Headquartered in Ottawa (Canada), Accreditation Canada has satellite offices in Toronto, Montreal and Brussels (Belgium).

Accreditation Canada is powered by a knowledgeable and experienced team of over 1000 staff, surveyors, subject matter experts and partners working with clients in Canada and around the world. From former hospital CEOs to patients with significant, first-hand experience of the health system, to Indigenous community health leaders and more, Accreditation Canada staff are in tune with your daily challenges and are dedicated to helping your organization offer the best care possible.

When you succeed, we succeed in achieving quality health services for all.

Board

Accreditation Canada is an independent non-governmental organization that operates globally as an affiliate of Health Standards Organization (HSO).

The affairs of Accreditation Canada are overseen by the Board and CEO of HSO. HSO board member profiles can be found here.

Leadership

The CEO of Accreditation Canada and HSO is Leslee Thompson. There are two Executive Directors on the senior team leading Accreditation Canada services:

• Executive Vice President – Nelea Lungu
• Executive Vice President – Katerina Tarasova