If you or a loved one is searching for a senior living community, you understand how overwhelming it can be to choose the best place to spend your retirement years. How do you know whether a community will hold up the promises it makes to potential residents? How will you begin to narrow down your choices?
We believe that accreditation makes a big difference. Michael Rambarose, President and CEO of Whitney Center, a Life Care community in Hamden, CT, states, “Communities that are accredited by outside organizations offer their residents and families a higher level of accountability and transparency. For example, Whitney Center’s CARF accreditation proves to our residents that we meet the highest standards in human services and are committed to continually improving ourselves to best meet our residents’ needs.”
Whitney Center’s accreditation from CARF is voluntary, adding even more assurances beyond state requirements to give our residents greater confidence in our programs, services and, ultimately, in their investment in their future.
What Is CARF Accreditation?
CARF stands for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. It is an international, non-profit organization that helps companies within the human services sphere reach and maintain standards of excellence. CARF is the only accreditor of Life Plan communities (formerly known as Continuing Care Retirement Communities). Among other health and human services, CARF surveys senior living communities to see if they meet internationally agreed-upon standards for quality of care, financial stability and value for residents.
Senior living communities that meet these standards receive CARF accreditation, which must be renewed periodically for updated status. This ensures that communities not only meet the standards at the time of their survey but that they continue to improve their services and business operations to ensure future accreditation.
Whitney Center holds the ASPIRE to Excellence® CARF accreditation. To achieve this status, our community has gone through extensive surveys and assessments of every aspect of our organization, including:
A – Assessment of the environment
S – Setting a strategy for the community
P – Persons served (our residents and families) providing input
I – Implementing our plan to reach our purpose
R – Review of our results
E – Effecting change through continuous monitoring and improvement
How Seniors Benefit
There are dozens of factors involved in choosing the right senior living community. From the community atmosphere and culture to the types of care services offered, plenty goes into your decision on choosing a place to call home. You’ll find that your deciding factors will be the aspects of the lifestyle the community offers that provide the greatest benefits to you personally. CARF accreditation offers several benefits to the seniors who reside in those communities. We believe the greatest are:
- Person-First Approach – CARF’s philosophy on standards of excellence is built on the idea of person-centered success. If a senior living community’s first priority is the people they serve, then everything else—their operational structure, their financial stability, their outreach endeavors—will fall into place. By achieving accreditation, communities show that they share the same person-first approach to service. CARF accreditation is a seal of achievement in emphasizing an individual approach to care and lifestyle services.
- Peace of Mind – Because of the high standards communities must reach to become CARF-accredited, residents and their families can be confident in the quality of accommodations, services and support they will experience at the community. Residents can be sure that their community has met high standards in its services, care and amenities, as well as in its financial stability and plans for future growth. For a Life Plan community like Whitney Center, it’s imperative that our residents are confident in the decision they make to spend their retirement years with us. CARF accreditation helps us communicate our dedication to our promises and our residents’ investments.
- Continual Improvement – CARF accreditation provides senior living communities with exclusive resources to help them maintain standards of excellence. CARF offers consultations, publications, conferences and training opportunities for community leadership and employees. Accreditation also provides a link to a network of other leading communities and services providers in the senior living industry. These resources, in addition to the commitment to maintaining accreditation standards, promote continuous improvement of communities’ business practices and services.
Twenty Years and Counting
Whitney Center first achieved CARF accreditation in 1998 and has maintained its status every year since. This year marks the 20th year that Whitney Center has reaffirmed its commitment to standards of excellence.
“We continue to renew our CARF accreditation each year as a demonstration of our intentions,” says Rambarose. “As a community, we intend to continue improving our services with today’s and tomorrow’s seniors in mind. We believe that holding ourselves accountable to the promises we make as a Life Plan community honors the seniors with whom we hope to serve. Our residents made a choice, and we’re humbled that they chose Whitney Center. It’s our honor to ensure them that their choice was the right one.”
If you would like to know more about Whitney Center or CARF, please contact the community today.
Discover Excellence in Senior Living.
At Whitney Center, you’ll find a distinguished senior living community where residents do what they love. Located in Hamden, Connecticut, Whitney Center combines all the cultural, educational and historical charms of the Greater New Haven area with the intricate details of daily life for active seniors. Whitney Center is a Life Care community, offering not just an unparalleled independent living lifestyle, but a full continuum of care services as well, including assisted living, rehabilitation, skilled nursing care and memory care. Whitney Center even offers a home-based long-term care program, Thrive at Home, which connects seniors to the services they need to live well in their own home.
Choice. Freedom. Opportunity.
We believe that remaining engaged and striving for excellence builds a more meaningful life. That’s why residents experience a host of services and amenities, events and cultural opportunities and wellness programs designed to foster endless growth and personalized living. Backed by our first-rate hospitality and philosophy of continuous improvement, our residents are free to travel, learn, volunteer, set new goals and create the life they want to live.
Come Here to Thrive.
At Whitney Center, residents live in the midst of cultural arts and education and dignified connections to the greater community. Seniors thrive in pursuit of what brings them joy, with unlimited opportunities to create and contribute. And, with the confidence in quality care services available on site if health needs ever change, Whitney Center makes it possible for seniors to continue enjoying the freedom to embrace life at its fullest.
