Berkshire AHEC awarded approved provider status by ANCC
PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Berkshire AHEC was awarded approved provider status of continuing nursing education by the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses (MARN), Inc., an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC COA).The Continuing Education Committee of the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses determined that Berkshire AHEC meets the required criteria and has approved Berkshire AHEC for a three-year approved provider status. Berkshire Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is therefore able to provide continuing education programs for nurses.
The accrediting process is intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of continuing nursing education, making it worthy of public confidence. The extent to which each organization accepts and fulfills the responsibilities inherent in this process is a measure of its concern for quality in continuing nursing education and of its commitment to strive for and achieve excellence in its endeavors.
Accreditation is a voluntary process. Institutions choose to apply for accredited status at the ANCC. Once accredited, they agree to abide by the standards of the ANCC and to regulate themselves by taking responsibility for their own improvement. Accredited providers of continuing education give nursing professionals the assurance that they receive quality continuing education activities as prescribed by ANCC's rigorous accreditation process.
“The most widely accepted standards to provide contact hours for nursing are the standards of the ANCC COA,” said Carmela A. Townsend, MS/MBA, RN of the MARN Approver Unit, Milton, Mass. “We applaud your choice of these standards to ensure excellence in nursing continuing education. We thank you, too, for choosing MARN and look forward to a continued relationship throughout the term of your providership.”
Berkshire AHEC’s Executive Director, Timothy Diehl, said “this status provides a high standard for continuing education for nurses attending our training events.” “We join a select group of MARN approved provider units similarly designated in Massachusetts and are the only such organization in the Berkshires.”
