Ingleside Awarded Five-Year Term of Accreditation

Ingleside at King Farm has been awarded a five-year term of accreditation by CARF–CCAC. The prestigious accreditation signals the continuous care retirement community’s commitment to continually improving the quality of its services and programs for residents.

“We want to be among the very best continuing care retirement communities in the country,” said Bob Fri, chairman of the board at Ingleside at King Farm, a faith-based not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Rockville’s King Farm development. “This accreditation epitomizes the attitude around here to seek excellence in everything we do.”

Fri said that of the 1900 continuing care retirement communities in the U.S., only about 300 have achieved CARF-CCAC accreditation.

To receive the five-year term of accreditation, Ingleside at King Farm went through a rigorous peer-review process and demonstrated to a team of surveyors during a three-day, on-site survey that it is committed to conforming to CARF–CCAC’s accreditation conditions and standards. The community had to meet more than 1000 standards of excellence. In many cases, Ingleside at King Farm not only met the standards, but exceeded them.

“Accreditation gives residents the assurance that their community has best practices in place to provide a high quality of life and care,” said Burt Person, a resident and Chairman of the Quality of Life & Care committee at Ingleside at King Farm.

Elaine Koubek, Assistant Director at Ingleside at King Farm who served as project manager, said accreditation is also important to non-residents.

“The accreditation is a visible symbol showing prospective residents that we are serious about the quality of care for the people we serve,” she said. “Our residents have a sense that this is their community, and they’re invested in making it the best possible place to live now and in the future.”

The Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC) was founded in 1985 as the nation’s only accrediting body for continuing care retirement communities and similar organizations. In 2003, CCAC merged with CARF, a nonprofit accreditor founded in 1966 that serves a wide range of human service organizations.

“It was a partnership of staff, board and residents working together to reach this critical milestone,” said Marilyn Leist, Ingleside at King Farm’s Executive Director. “From the policies and procedures established as a result of this process will spring forth our best practices to keep us on a track to excellence.”

Lynn O’Connor, President and CEO of Westminster Ingleside Communities and Foundation, said the CARF–CCAC accreditation process will begin this year for the other Westminster Ingleside communities, Ingleside at Rock Creek and Westminster at Lake Ridge.

“We are thrilled at Ingleside at King Farm’s achievement. Our goal is to have all three of our communities accredited by the end of 2015,” she said. “We are fortunate to have outstanding Board members, residents, and staff at Westminster Ingleside Communities and Foundation who aspire to excellence!”

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