Bronze National Quality Award
Old Brownlee Community Care Center Opens with the distinction of carrying forward the 2017 Bronze National Quality Award, earned by the staff of Whispering Pines, the center it is replacing.
The staff of Whispering Pines was recognized as a 2017 recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award for its dedication to improving the lives of residents through quality care. They systems put into place there will carry forward to Old Brownlee Community Care Center. The distinction is one of three progressive award levels through the National Quality Award Program, presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), the leading association for long term and post-acute care. The program honors association members across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality of care for seniors and persons with disabilities.
“Quality improvement is something that we work on continuously. When we learned of this quality award, we knew going through the process would give us an unprecedented opportunity to focus our efforts to make significant gains in quality,” said Rhonda Burlison, administrator of Whispering Pines. “Even though we use tools like a quality assurance performance improvement process and satisfaction surveys with residents, employees and families; applying for a National Quality Award centered on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program helped us to continue to improve our processes and quality which ultimately benefits those we serve.
Whispering Pines is one of 18 skilled nursing facilities in Louisiana earning the 2017 Bronze Quality Award and one of 520 nationally. The National Quality Award Program, which AHCA/NCAL established in 1996, is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which is also the foundation of the metric-based AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative. The Baldrige program helps organizations in different business sectors improve and achieve performance excellence.
The Award Program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Providers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision, mission statement, and key strengths and challenges. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system. Trained Examiners review each Bronze application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As a recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award, Whispering Pines Community Care Center may move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award criteria.
“I commend Whispering Pines Community Care Center for embarking on the journey to quality improvement,” said the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers Chair Alana Wolfe. “I encourage Whispering Pines Community Care Center to continue to build on the strong foundation it has created.”
AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.
