Certification and Accreditation
The Marie Smith Center and Lambert House are both state-certified adult day centers. In addition, our Centers have received the Elder Friendly Business Certification from Elders In Action*.
To conduct the evaluations, trained evaluators arrived at our Adult Day Centers--Lambert House and Marie Smith Center. The evaluators, posing as potential customers, made unscheduled and independent assessments of the services. Ratings were done in five main categories:
(1.) Access to the Site by Phone,
(2.) Physical Access to the Site,
(3.) Layout of the Site,
(4.) Customer Service, and
(5.) Best Practices.
Both centers received high marks earning this certification.
*Located in Portland, Oregon, Elders in Action is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is "To assure a vibrant community through the active involvement of older adults." For more than 30 years, Elders in Action has worked to improve the quality of life for older adults.
Volunteers of America Oregon is proud that our Adult Day Centers were not only the first adult day service programs in the state of Oregon to receive accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF*), we have once again received a 3-year extension for the exemplary services offered at Marie Smith Center and Lambert House.
The award was initially presented in June, 2003, when CARF sent two representatives to conduct a stringent three-day accreditation inspection. They visited each facility and observed the program activities, reviewed the records, policies and procedures, and interviewed board members, staff and participants.
After evaluating the findings, CARF awarded our Adult Day Centers with a one-year accreditation. In 2007, we received an even higher honor, our second full three-year accreditation extension.
*CARF is an independent, international not-for-profit accrediting body promoting quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the person served. Since 1966, CARF has established consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.