Current Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Press Contacts

Press Center

Bethesda’s Indiana Services Receive Two-year Accreditation

060126/01
Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc., a worldwide leader in the developmental disability service industry, announced today that its Indiana programs and services received a two-year accreditation from The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL).

Bethesda, whose Northeast Region headquarters are located in Fort Wayne, uses CQL accreditation to ensure the people who receive services from its organization are receiving the highest quality services and supports.

Bethesda’s Indiana programs and services include community living opportunities and short-term care programs for individuals with developmental disabilities in Fort Wayne Greenfield, Lowell and Valparaiso. All tolled Bethesda’s Indiana program serves 46 individuals and employs 125 staff members throughout the state.

“Bethesda has always provided high quality services for people with developmental disabilities,” says Shonn Patrick Foy, Bethesda’s Northeast Region Administrator. “The Council’s accreditation process ensures that we continue to focus on the individual and listen to what they have to say about the type of support they receive.”

The Council on Quality and Leadership is an international not-for-profit leader in the definition, measurement, and evaluation of quality of life for people with disabilities. The key to proving the integrity of an organization’s quality assurance practices is their ability to collect and analyze data toward improving quality. CQL has set the standard for data collection in the field of disabilities and mental health services through their accreditation program.

“We are proud our Indiana programs received this two-year accreditation,” says Dr. David Geske, Bethesda president and CEO. “It’s a wonderful example of the type of high quality services and supports we offer individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.”

To achieve the desired result of accreditation, CQL staff members were assigned to Bethesda’s Indiana program and assisted them through each step of the accreditation process.

The accreditation review lasted only a few short days, but the planning and preparation have been on-going throughout the Indiana program for a few years.

“The entire process took a lot of dedication and a lot of time, but staff members’ approach to this process has been wonderful,” says Foy. “Their objective has always been to enrich the lives of the individuals they serve, and to provide the services needed to do just that.”

The most rewarding aspect of the CQL accreditation process is the independence that it brings to the individuals who receive services at Bethesda. And that, according to Foy, is worth all the hard work.

“The implementations at Bethesda, as a result of the accreditation process, creates more personal choices for the individuals, and gives them the ability to direct their services,” says Foy. “As a result, there are more opportunities for them to live out their dreams and their visions for their life.”

Now in its second century of service, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc. provides services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities throughout the country and throughout the world. It is Bethesda’s mission to support the needs of the individual—both physical and spiritual—and as a result, Bethesda offers many different types of services for the individual and their family, including a variety of residential facilities, supported-living programs, outreach services and secular training workshops. For more information on Bethesda’s services and support programs in Indiana, call Shonn Patrick Foy, Northeast Region Administrator, at 1.260.452.2232, or email: sfoy@blhs.org.