MoreThe American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) recently recognized North Adams Commons Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in North Adams for achieving national quality goals. North Adams Commons achieved Tier IV status, the highest level of recognition in the AHCA/NCAL’s Quality Initiative.
As a Tier IV center, North Adams Commons met or exceeded all program goals, demonstrating a commitment to quality through increased customer satisfaction and reduced hospital readmissions, staff turnover and treatment with antipsychotics.
“The organizations we are recognizing have demonstrated a deep commitment to improving the lives of the individuals they serve,” said Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “We continue to see significant progress in achieving the Quality Initiative goals because of the hard work of our members. I applaud all of them.”
The Quality Initiative is a three-year national effort building on current work in long term and post-acute care with measurable benchmarks for improving the quality of care in skilled nursing centers. Recognition is based on demonstrating improvement compared to baseline performance or to the top 25% of centers nationally, based on 2012 data.
Goals include reducing nursing staff turnover by 15% or achieving a turnover rate of less than 31.3%; increasing customer satisfaction to 90% or better based on willingness to recommend the center to others; safely reducing hospital readmissions by 15% or achieving a rate of less than 14.1% in the first quarter of 2014; and safely reducing the off-label use of antipsychotics by 15% or achieving a rate of less than 14.8% in the first quarter of 2014. Tier IV recognizes centers achieving all four program goals.
“North Adams Commons is committed to providing high quality care and we are proud to be part of this quality initiative,” said Robert Post, Administrator at North Adams Commons. “Achieving Tier IV recognition was truly a team effort, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of our residents.”
North Adams Commons was honored at AHCA/NCAL’s Quality Symposium in Austin, Texas.
North Adams Commons Nursing & Rehabilitation Center is a non-profit organization that has been caring for people in the North Adams area since 1981. Located close to the center of town, North Adams Commons provides top quality, personalized short-term rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing care, restorative care, and respite care, all in a warm, homelike setting. Hospice services are available for compassionate end-of-life care. North Adams Commons has been recognized by the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) with the Bronze Commitment to Quality award and the Silver Achievement in Quality Award, the first and second steps toward the Gold Excellence in Quality recognition. North Adams Commons Nursing & Rehabilitation Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, an organization that integrates additional quality improvement principles into the daily operations with focus on improved resident outcomes. North Adams Commons is owned by Berkshire Healthcare, a leader among nonprofit, post-acute care organizations in Massachusetts.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 12,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, 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.