Local Groups Partner to Engage Nursing Homes, Consumers in New National Quality Campaign

Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign Aims at Accelerated Improvement, Resident and Staff Satisfaction

Harrisburg, PA - November 1, 2006 — Pennsylvania’s nursing home associations, consumer advocates, and healthcare quality experts are urging the state’s 700+ nursing homes to volunteer for a new national campaign aimed at accelerating the rate of quality improvement in nursing homes across the country.

The Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign kicked off September 29, 2006 at a national Nursing Home Quality Summit in Washington, DC. The voluntary campaign targets eight measurable clinical quality and organizational improvement goals on which nursing homes can work to improve their quality of care. Consumers are also invited to join the campaign. Registration and information are available at the campaign Web site, www.nhqualitycampaign.org.

“ We have seen important improvements in the quality of care in our state’s nursing homes since Medicare began publicly reporting on clinical quality nearly four years ago,” said Dr. David Wenner, Medical Director for Quality Insights of PA. “But we know we must aim to accelerate improvement, so that every resident is getting the best care possible. We urge nursing homes to register to participate in the two-year campaign.”

“The Advancing Excellence campaign sets goals that operationalize and measure the improvements in quality that many nursing homes are already achieving,” said Stuart Shapiro, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association. “Voluntarily signing on to work on at least three of the eight campaign goals is an important way for nursing homes in our state to demonstrate that high quality is a top priority.”

The campaign is different from existing national quality initiatives in several respects. It encourages consumer involvement as an important aspect to achieving success. The campaign also acknowledges organizational culture elements such as the critical role of consistent nursing home staffing and resident and family satisfaction for improving care. The campaign Web site will also offer free technical assistance and guidelines for participating homes.

“This campaign goes beyond providers and government. Consumers play an active role in the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign, and can also sign up to participate,” said Carol Tschop, president of the PA Culture Change Coalition, a state-wide advocacy group committed to improving elders’ quality of life. “Consumers can help educate the public about the campaign and the importance of expecting high quality care. We expect that consumers will encourage nursing homes to voluntarily participate.”

The campaign will also rely on Local Area Networks for Excellence (LANEs) to disseminate information and encourage participation at the local level. In PA, the Coalition is working in the LANE capacity to identify partners who support the campaign by lending leadership, organizational, technical, communications and other expertise.

The PA Health Care Association, the PA Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging, and the state Quality Insights Organization are early backers of the initiative.

For more information about the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign, visit www.nhqualitycampaign.org.