Whitehorse, Watson Lake hospitals get accreditation

The hospitals in Whitehorse and Watson Lake have received their full 4-year accreditation.

Surveyors from out of the territory examined more than 1,700 criteria at the two facilities.

Overall, the hospitals were compliant with 89 per cent of the criteria.

They were commended for clean, well maintained facilities, staff cooperation and some specialized programs.

James Low is the manager of communications for the Yukon Hospital Corporation.

He says one area, that needs more work, is keeping patients and their families better informed and involved in their care.

That's all about engaging the patients and involving them in their care and we're actually quite excited on this front because we're doing a little bit of work and over the coming months we'll be launching one component of that, which is a new patient survey.

The new hospital in Dawson City wasn't included in this accreditation.

It will be included in the next round, scheduled for 2018.