SITKA — At the WIC Coordinators Conference held earlier this month, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) was awarded a “Certificate of Appreciation” for having zero findings during their most recent biennial State of Alaska Management Evaluation. Zero, in this case, means no errors.
The Evaluation includes an in-depth self-assessment and multiple standards within 12 areas, which are
- Nutrition Services – 49 standards
- Clinic Operations – 19 standards
- Caseload Management & Outreach – 8 standards
- Civil Rights – 10 standards
- Staffing – 4 standards
- Organization – 2 standards
- Food Delivery/Food Instrument Accountability – 9 standards
- Vendor Relations – 4 standards
- Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program – 4 standards
- Financial Management – 9 standards
- Information Management System – 4 standards
- Breastfeeding Peer Counseling – 12 standards
Additionally, a random audit of thirty case charts was conducted to evaluate required documentation and quality of services in 19 specific areas. SEARHC’s six WIC employees and one contractor met or exceeded all 134 standards.
SEARHC WIC Coordinator, Kathy O’Gara said, “I would like to thank and congratulate the WIC employees, our contractor in Metlakatla, SEARHC Finance, and the SEARHC IT staff for doing such an outstanding job. They all put in multiple hours to ensure SEARHC WIC provides the highest quality services. The attention to detail for this program is daunting and sometimes even overwhelming. This evaluation does not begin to evaluate the customer service and depth of caring each WIC staff gives to every parent, caregiver, and child who walks through our doors.” She added, “I sincerely appreciate the teamwork our team displays by being available for one another, teaching each other, conducting their own internal audits to ensure charts are accurate and complete, and even laughing together.”