SOAR grew out of an idea hatched by members of the ADHB Integrated Quality Committee to support and facilitate quality improvement initiatives within the aged care sector, using the ADHB as partner and facilitator. There are several other key initiatives that have been developed by the group in conjunction with this one. To learn more about these, click here.
The initial driver of the programme was to provide a way in which agencies, be they small not-for-profit organisations or large corporate organisations spanning several sites, could monitor their own quality via a set of agreed indicators in a way which was completely impartial and not linked to audit or funding.
This idea quickly grew into a broader vision and educational resources, networking opportunities and information sharing have now all been built into the SOAR website.
Organisations complete a rotation of 8 System Self Assessments and 4 Quality Indicators each year. Combined, they give an indication of the home's achievement against industry best practice and standards. SOAR utilises the tools initially developed by the Aged Care Quality Association and share the advancement and development of the various self assessments and indicators with them.
There are also Registers available on line for the members where they can monitor and investigate
Organisation Members have the option of receiving on-site training from the Network Coordinator. The session will cover areas such as understanding and using the self assessments, indicators and surveys, interpreting the reports and orientation to and use of the website.