Amman, Jordan - 28 September 2010: The Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC) is conducting its first Primary Health Care Surveyor Certification Course this month which is being taught by Joanne Ashton, an internationally recognized expert in accreditation. The course is a part of HCAC's Surveyor Certification Program which is accredited by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). Jordan is only one of five countries in the world to have achieved this accreditation.  The program is designed to train individuals to become HCAC Certified Primary Health Care Surveyors and to be able to survey PHC Centers in Jordan and the region that meet the HCAC PHC Accreditation Standards.  The Primary Health Care Accreditation Standards incorporate vital health care principals with a major focus on community integration and participation and health promotion.

HCAC is the first accreditation body in the region to publish Primary Health Care Accreditation Standards.  The course will train 21 local HCAC Certified Hospital Surveyors during the HCAC Primary Health Care Surveyor Certification Course. The intensive two week course, starting September 20th to October 5th will include four days of theoretical, classroom training and ten days of practical, on-site training which includes conducting of mock surveys of PHC Centers. Upon successful completion of the Course the trainees will become HCAC Certified PHC Surveyors and will be able to conduct accreditation surveys of public, private, RMS, and NGO PHC centers throughout Jordan.

The first centers to go for an accreditation survey are the 25 PHC centers who have received extensive training by local and international consultants from the Jordan Health Care Accreditation Project (JHAP). Over the past two years, JHAP has arranged multiple workshops and one-on-one consultation visits in order to support these PHC centers in the development and preparation process for the upcoming HCAC PHC Accreditation Survey.

Mrs. Eman Zmaily, Director, Surveys and Standards Development had this to say regarding the Primary Health Care Surveyor Certification Course, "This course further educates local HCAC Certified Surveyors to be able to conduct primary health care center surveys in order to award accreditation. Primary health care is a principal vehicle for the delivery of health care at the most local level of our country's health system. This year we will survey 19 different primary health care centers with in Jordan. Accreditation is a crucial step in the movement towards better health care in Jordan and the MENA region."

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© Press Release 2010