The Alabama Nursing Home Association (ANHA) is supporting the expansion of a nationwide, multi-year initiative to further improve quality in skilled nursing care centers.

Spearheaded by the profession’s leading association, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the Quality Initiative includes eight measurable targets with a strategic focus on three priorities — improvements in organizational success, short-term/post-acute care, and long-term/dementia care — to be met by March 2018.

The Quality Initiative builds on national and local progress achieved in quality improvements over the last three years.

“Alabama nursing homes have embraced quality improvement, and we’re proud of their significant achievements,” said ANHA Executive Director Bill O’Connor said. “The next three years will position our members to achieve even greater success. It’s gratifying to know the hard work our members put into delivering quality care improves the lives of the patients, residents and families they serve. We’re honored to be a part of this important effort.”

The goals of the Quality Initiative for the next three years include new areas of focus for quality enhancement. The eight target areas and priorities are:

Improve Organizational Success by:

  • Increasing staff stability by decreasing turnover among nursing staff by 15% or achieve and maintain turnover of less than 40%;
  • At least 25% of members measuring and reporting long-stay resident and family satisfaction and/or short-stay satisfaction using the Core-Q survey;
  • Reducing the number of unintended health care outcomes by March 2018;

Improve Short-Term/Post-Acute Care by:

  • Safely reducing the number of hospital readmissions within 30 days during a skilled nursing center stay by an additional 15% or achieve and maintain a low rate of 10%;
  • Improving discharge back to the community by 10% or achieve and maintain a high rate of at least 70%;
  • At least 25% of members adopting and using the mobility and self-care sections of the CARE tool and report functional outcome measures using LTC Trend TrackerSM;

Improve Long-Stay/Dementia Care by:

  • Safely reducing the off-label use of antipsychotics in long-stay nursing center residents by an additional 10% by December 2015 and 15% by December 2016;
  • Safely reducing hospitalizations among long-stay residents by 15% or achieve and maintain a low rate of 10% or less by March 2018.

“Each year, our members equip themselves and their centers with better approaches and tools to deliver high-quality care. The Quality Initiative is built on their hard work and progress,” said AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson. “For the next three years, we want to guide and encourage providers to achieve even greater success. The goals and priorities we have established will continue to improve lives and deliver solutions for the patients, residents and families our members serve.”

Since the Quality Initiative began in 2012, ANHA members have safely reduced the off-label use of antipsychotic medications by 18%. Surpassing the nationwide goal of a 15% reduction. You can read more here.

AHCA will use CMS data and measures to track progress of the goals. Members can view their progress using AHCA’s LTC Trend TrackerSM, a web-based, data collection and benchmarking tool.

About the AHCA Quality Initiative:

Launched in 2012, the Quality Initiative is an effort that builds upon existing work of the long term and post-acute care profession by setting specific, measurable targets to further improve quality of care in America’s skilled nursing centers. For more information, please visit qualityinitiative.ahcancal.org.