Ash Grove Healthcare Facility earns national quality award
Ash Grove Healthcare Facility has been recognized as a 2021 recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living for its commitment to improving the lives of residents through quality care.
AGHCF is an 82-bed licensed skilled nursing facility owned and operated by Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation in Bolivar.
The distinction is the first of three progressive award levels through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award program, which honors association members across the country that demonstrate their commitment to improving quality of care for seniors and people with disabilities.
“It is truly a team effort here at CMH and we have a great team,” said Chris McBratney, administrative director of long-term care at CMH Foundation. “We are excited for the news of winning this award for Ash Grove Healthcare Facility, especially in a year when COVID-19 presented long-term care with many challenges.”
Created by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is a rigorous three-level process that is reviewed and judged by trained experts against a set of nationally recognized standards for organizational excellence. The standards of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program help organizations achieve superior performance in order to improve quality of life and care of long-term care residents and staff.
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 sustainable performance improvement system.
Trained Examiners review each application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As a recipient of the bronze award, AGHCF may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving advanced levels of performance that meet the Silver - Achievement in Quality Award criteria.
“I applaud the resiliency of Ash Grove Healthcare Facility for taking this important step toward sustainable quality improvement while heroically protecting and caring for residents during one of the most challenging years in recent history,” said Tammy Kelly, chair of the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers. “I encourage Ash Grove Healthcare Facility to continue on its path to becoming among the best in the country.”
The award will be presented in October during the AHCA/NCAL 72nd Convention & Expo in National Harbor, Maryland.
CMH Foundation owns and operates six long-term care facilities and one residential care center in Ash Grove, Bolivar, Buffalo, El Dorado Springs and Stockton. Visit www.citizensmemorial.com for more information.