Earning the Most Prestigious Honors in Long-Term Care
With virtually every business claiming to deliver it, the term “quality” has lost much of its meaning. In the long-term care industry, however, there is a truly objective measure of quality: the Quality First Initiative of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). ElderWood Senior Care is one of very few companies to meet its extraordinarily high standards.
Since the initiative was created in 1996, only 12 facilities in New York State have achieved AHCA Step I and Step II status. Three are located downstate; the other nine are ElderWood facilities. In all, ElderWood has earned nine Step I and four Step II awards, and we have dedicated ourselves to pursuing ever-higher AHCA honors.
In 2007, ElderWood Health Care at Birchwood was the only long-term care facility in New York State and one of only 140 nationwide to receive an AHCA Step I Quality Award. ElderWood Health Care at Heathwood was the only facility in the state and one of only 13 in the country to receive a Step II Quality Award.
AHCA's Quality Award is modeled on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier recognition for quality achievement. Its criteria are so stringent, few of the country’s 17,000 long-term care facilities even attempt the application process. The awards follow an increasingly demanding progression, from the entry level Step I to a more rigorous Step II and a comprehensive Step III.
As proud as we are of our awards, what’s significant is what they say about us – that ElderWood makes quality care our very first priority. When families entrust their loved ones to us, they can be confident that we will provide “Care without Compromise®,” and that we will continually challenge ourselves to improve.
“Recipients of our Quality Award reflect the long-term care profession’s commitment to meeting customers’ needs through a process of continuous quality improvement,” explains Bruce Yarwood, AHCA president and CEO. “Recipients of this prestigious award know that the pursuit of excellence is a continuous journey and that the destination of satisfied residents, families and staff makes the journey worthwhile.”