Fostering team work and recognizing health care quality are goals of the Alabama Nursing Home Association’s newest board member.
At a meeting this week in Albertville, Chris Schmidt was elected by his peers to serve on ANHA’s Executive Board as Region 2 Director. Schmidt will complete the term of former Region 2 Director Jim Walker who was elected ANHA’s Treasurer in September.
“It’s a special privilege when your peers elect you to represent them and to carry forward the important work that we do across the state and in Montgomery,” Schmidt said after the election. Region 2 consists of Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison and Marshall counties.
Schmidt, co-owner of Schmidt Wallace Healthcare Management Company, says ANHA has been strong over the years because members have been involved. He believes we must continue that if we to be successful in the coming years.
From left to right: Newly elected ANHA Region 2 Director Chris Schmidt and ANHA Treasurer and former Region 2 Director Jim Walker.
“I think we are going through a very large change right now and it’s going to require us to work even closer,” Schmidt said. “I wanted the opportunity to try to pull people together to help us succeed in the new landscape of health care given the new payment systems and methods. We’ve been successful over the years because we’ve gotten everyone to work together and to achieve outcomes that other states have not accomplished.”
Schmidt is also passionate about improving health care quality and then recognizing the achievements. All of the nursing homes operated by Schmidt Wallace Healthcare have earned a National Quality Award from the American Health Care Association. As a board member, he plans to encourage more nursing homes to apply for quality awards.
“Quality is the key to success today. I’ve always believed in quality improvement and using quality criteria and systems to improve nursing home care,” Schmidt said. “Alabama has good quality outcomes and good quality measures. However, we haven’t done as good of a job of reporting these. I would like to push quality improvement through the National Quality Award program that is sponsored by the American Health Care Association. I want to see Alabama get credit for the work it has done.”
Schmidt earned a Masters in Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery and a Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Auburn University. He earned a nursing home administrator license in 1990 and became a Certified Nursing Assistant in 1991. He continues to maintain both credentials. He has two sons, Brannon and Mason, and co-owns Schmidt Wallace Healthcare with his mother, Patti Wallace.
About the ANHA Executive Board
The ANHA Executive Board sets the association’s strategic goals and represents the nursing home profession at various events, government committees and community groups. Regional Directors hold regular meetings with nursing homes in their respective area to provide information on association activities and receive feedback from the membership.
