The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) are pleased to announce the selection of Hughes Health & Rehabilitation as a 2012 recipient of the Silver – Achievement in Quality for its outstanding performance in the health care profession. The competitive award highlights select facilities across the nation that serve as models of excellence in providing high-quality long term care.
“This award is a benchmark of distinction in the journey to providing high quality care,” said Governor Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “The long term and post-acute care community applauds Hughes Heath & Rehabilitation on this great achievement.”
“The award from AHCA/NCAL means a great deal to us because it recognizes our interdisciplinary team framework which stresses the total care needs of our residents,” said Mark Finkelstein, vice president of West Hartford-based Hughes Health & Rehabilitation.
In an indication of a strengthening commitment to quality care in skilled nursing and post-acute care centers, the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program saw success rates of applicants for the Silver award double from 8 percent to 17 percent. Hughes Health was one of 52 facilities nationwide to receive the Silver-level award this year. In addition, only 12 nursing homes in the State of Connecticut have achieved this distinction.
Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The program assists providers of long term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.
The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Facilities begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level and must receive an award at each level before proceeding to the next. As a recipient of the Silver – Achievement in Quality award, Hughes Health has demonstrated systematic advancements in quality, plans for continual improvement, and sustainable organizational goals. Hughes was awarded the Bronze Achievement in Quality in 2009.
Hughes Health & Rehabilitation may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the Gold – Excellence in Quality award, which requires them to address the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in its entirety.
“Receiving this award is evidence of the staff commitment and successful leadership at Hughes Health & Rehabilitation and its ability to apply rigorous standards to operations and service,” says Chick Stepahin, Chair, AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers. “Hughes Health has been consistent in its performance and dedication to providing high-quality care.”
The awards are sponsored by AHCA/NCAL Associate Business Member My InnerView, a Web-based applied research and quality-management company that supports leaders across the entire assisted living, senior housing and skilled nursing profession with tools to measure, benchmark and improve performance. The award will be presented to Hughes Health & Rehabilitation during AHCA/NCAL’s 63rd Annual Convention and Exposition, October 7-10, 2012 in Tampa, FL.
In addition to the AHCA/NCAL award, Hughes has been recognized as one of the Best Nursing Facilities in the U.S. for two years in a row by U.S. News & World Report, and for four consecutive years by the Consumers’ Research Council of America. Equally important, Hughes has received accreditation for its long-term care by The Joint Commission.
Hughes Health & Rehabilitation, a family-owned and operated health care center for over 50 years, provides quality care for those with chronic illness and for those needing convalescence and rehabilitation. Excellent healthcare, coupled with a genuine caring attitude are the hallmarks of Hughes Health. For more information about Hughes Health & Rehabilitation, visit www.HughesHealth.com.
