Wellpoint Care Network Receives Council on Accreditation (COA) Reaccreditation

Wellpoint Care Network is honored to announce we have been reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) for the ninth consecutive time.  

In addition, our organization was expedited through the Pre-Commission Review Report (PCR) process because there were no out of compliance ratings received in any of the fundamental practice standards. This is our first expedited accreditation.

“This is an important and distinguishing acknowledgement of Wellpoint Care’s commitment to excellence in program and administrative practice,” said Ann Leinfelder Grove, Wellpoint Care Network President and CEO.

OUR HISTORY

Wellpoint Care Network has been accredited by the national Council on Accreditation (COA) for more than 30 years, and this tenure sets us apart in Wisconsin’s nonprofit sector. Only a few dozen of the hundreds of human services organizations in Wisconsin are accredited by COA.

Being accredited since 1990 means we consistently meet high standards of practice in programming and administrative services implementation.

“Accreditation matters because it gives us high standards to benchmark against,” added Leinfelder Grove. “Increasingly, state and federal agencies look at accreditation as a seal of approval in their program and funding decisions.”

ABOUT COA

COA’s program of quality improvement is designed to identify providers that have met high performance standards and have made a commitment to their stakeholders to deliver the very best quality services. 

COA Accreditation, a service of Social Current, is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations in the United States and Canada. Over 2,000 organizations — voluntary, public and proprietary; local and statewide; large and small — have either successfully achieved accreditation or are currently engaged in the process.

THE PROCESS

To maintain accreditation, every four years we conduct an extensive self-study review to assess how our practices match up to the COA standards. COA standards are measured against international standards of best practices. We then host a team of peer reviewers on-site for a three-day visit that includes file reviews, interviews of Board members, staff, stakeholders and consumers, and a tour of our facility. 

Work to become reaccredited began in fall of 2023. Our staff worked hard and gathered documents which were submitted for the self-study (electronic submission of hundreds of evidence documents) in January of 2024. We then had the site visit in March of 2024.

PEER REVIEWERS’ REMARKS

Our peer reviewers have had decades of experience doing this work. Because they visit nonprofit organizations all across the country, we value their input and feedback.

Here are just a few of the comments they made during and after their review of evidence and their on-site visit and review:

“You can be very proud of the work you do here at Wellpoint Care. An amazing agency. I would work for you in a heartbeat.” 

“I picked up on a tagline, “wellness is the point of all we do.” It is worth mentioning because a lot of times, organizations will have marketing statements, but yours goes beyond that. This is at the core of everything — I saw it reflected in both service delivery and in support of the workforce. You have really created an environment that promotes everyone’s psychological and physical safety.” 

“I was blown away by the enthusiasm, excitement, passion, and dedication to the work that came through in everything. Talk about having the right people delivering services.”

“You do an outstanding job of ensuring that children are living in safe and stable and nurturing homes, whether it is with the family of origin or a temporary resource family.” 

NEXT STEPS

COA reaccreditation is an honor we do not take lightly. Though we can now proudly say we have been reaccredited, the work does not stop. Accreditation is just one element of our ongoing commitment to Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI).

While the accreditation process happens every four years, living and performing to the standards of excellence and the quality of care represented by accreditation happens in our daily work. Our passion and commitment are to the individuals and the community we serve.

“Wellpoint Care Network’s mission, vision and values were shining so brightly through the voices and hearts of our colleagues in this process — just as they do every day. On the good days, and on the tough days, too,” said Leinfelder Grove.