WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (June 28, 2022) – The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) recently announced the recipients of the 2022 Silver Achievement in Quality Award. Creston Specialty Care (Creston, IA) and Pleasant View Care Center (Whiting, IA) were recognized by AHCA/NCAL with this award.  The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program honors long-term and post-acute care providers that have demonstrated their commitment to improving the quality of care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

“Reaching the Silver Award level successfully while also compassionately protecting and caring for Iowa’s elderly and most vulnerable during these ever-changing times is remarkable,” said Brenda Irlbeck, vice president of quality improvement and regulatory affairs for the Iowa Health Care Association. “The resiliency and dedication of these facilities for continuing their quality improvement journey is admirable and a wonderful testament to the quality of care provided by Iowans to Iowans in long-term care facilities.”

Out of the 46 total award recipients in 24 states, 40 were skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), three were assisted living (AL) facilities and three had combined AL/SNF programs.

The National Quality Award Program is a rigorous process, made up of three levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – that is reviewed and judged by trained experts against a set of nationally recognized standards for organizational excellence. The Silver Award is the second of three distinctions possible through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. At the Silver level, members develop and demonstrate effective approaches that help improve organizational performance and health care outcomes. Silver recipients may move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the AHCA/NCAL Gold Excellence in Quality Award.

The awards program is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which also serves as the foundation for the metric-based AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative. The Baldrige framework helps organizations among different business sectors improve organizational effectiveness and achieve strategy-driven performance.

Winners of the 2022 Gold Excellence in Quality Award will be announced in August.