BCSLA

Seal of Approval

BC Seniors Living Association’s Seal of Approval (SoA) designation is an industry-wide self-regulation program that allows independent and assisted living retirement communities to celebrate their continuous commitment to providing the highest standards of safety, security, and services to residents. More than 125 communities in British Columbia (BC) have been awarded the designation.

A Symbol of Purpose

BCSLA is shaping the future of senior living in British Columbia through its Seal of Approval program. The purpose of the Seal is to maintain the integrity of the senior living industry in BC through the consistent evaluation of the programs and services senior living communities provide.

Why Move Into A Home With A Seal?

– Communities with the Seal designation provide families with the assurance that their loved ones reside in a home that meets the highest standards of excellence.

– The Seal takes a wellness approach to ensure communities are meeting the standards to provide a high quality of life to the residents.

– Prospective residents are able to make an informed and confident decision about where they want to live.

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History of the Seal

BCSLA has been the leader in the senior living industry since 2009 when the Seal of Approval program first launched. The Seal of Approval was developed by BCSLA members who sought to ensure the industry remained self-regulated and delivered exceptional care to the seniors of BC.

History Timeline

Raising The Bar

Role of the Seal

The Seal of Approval program in place ensures quality of service, and well-being of residents, and continuously evaluates standards in order to maintain a vibrant and engaged environment for the seniors’ community. The Seal instills a level of confidence and assurance to both the resident and their loved ones that a rigorous set of standards is in place.

Earning the Designation

For a community of obtain the Seal, they must meet the high standards put in place to ensure safety measures, healthy policies, staff training, and resident services are up to standard. Once the Seal has been obtained, communities are required to undergo follow-up assessments every two years to ensure that they are continuing to go above and beyond for their residents, staff members and the community.

What Are The Benefits For

For Residents – Improved quality of life: The Seal takes a wellness approach to ensure BC homes are meeting the standards to provide a high quality of life to its residents.

For Family Members – Increased reassurance: IL and AL communities with the Seal designation provide families with the assurance that their loved ones will reside in a home that meets the rigorous standards outlined in the Seal.

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Foundation of the Seal

Excellence

Every aspect of the senior living experience is of the highest standard.

Integrity

To be consistently evaluated and display a passion for upholding the values of the industry.

Leadership

To be a resource for other owners and operators in British Columbia.

Revitalization Of The Seal

Just as continual growth is expected of all BCSLA members, the Seal of Approval assessment tool must also evolve with the latest best practices. BCSLA understands the importance of staying up-to-date to ensure the highest standards are meeting the needs of dynamic operating environments, residents and their family members. The revitalization of the Seal of Approval program was done to ensure our members exceed the expectations of residents and family members, and that all their services and programs are rooted in evidence-based best practices. We pride ourselves on being innovative leaders in the sector.

How Does The New SOA Provide Additional Value and Help Maintain Continuous Improvement?

The assessment tool is now completely digital and data driven. The program lives on a digital platform accessed by the community through a user-friendly interface that allows staff to proactively prepare for their assessments and take any necessary actions to continually improve their communities. By implementing a data-driven program, BCSLA can leverage the data to establish the baseline for a continuous improvement program for staff and contractors. The digital program also uses specific pathways to tailor the assessment to the community being assessed. This eliminates any “cookie cutter” or “one size fits all” assessments and creates more value to the data inputted and the data received.

BCSLA is truly excited about the prospects for the new assessment tool and are proud to be offering this value added service to its members.

Testimonials

“From an innovation perspective, BCSLA’s new SoA program is an example of how technology can play an important role in the seniors’ services sector. The new digital platform and continuous improvement focus opens the door for other innovations to be introduced into the seniors living space.”

Michael Chrostowski, AGEWELL

“The digitized platform is intuitive and truly does assist the Senior Living Manager and their team to adopt continuous improvement metrics unique to their site and also provides value training opportunities for their employees. This program is leaps and bounds ahead of other tools employed in similar jurisdictions.”

Tanya Snow, Bria Communities

SFU Gerontology educational programs place strong emphasis on community-based learning experience in public policy, programs and services for older adults in the community. BCSLA’s SoA program is an excellent opportunity for our students to have direct exposure to the seniors’ housing sector in BC and gain a better understanding of the operational realities in congregative living arrangements for seniors.”

Atiya Mahmood, Simon Fraser University Gerontology

“BCSLA’s new SoA program shows just academia and industry can collaborate to develop truly innovative and creative programs that ensure a high level of standards and continuous quality improvements in a sector that has undergone tremendous scrutiny since COVID-19.”

Jennifer Baumbusch, University of British Columbia School of Nursing

Thank You To Our Advisory Committee

Operators

Bria Communities
Chartwell
Elm Village
Manoah Manor
New Chelsea
Optima Living
Revera
Sienna Senior Living
Tapestry

Suppliers

Complete Purchasing
Solutions (CPS)
Gordon Food Services
Swish
Total Energy Systems
Westland Insurance

Validators

AGEWELL
SFU School of Gerontology
UBC School of Nursing