Great Barrington, Mass. – July 24 – Fairview Commons has been recognized as a 2019 recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) for its commitment to improving the lives of residents through quality care. The distinction is the first of three progressive award levels through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. The program, presented by the leading association in long term and post-acute care, honors association members across the country that have demonstrated their dedication to improving quality of care for seniors and persons with disabilities.
“We are proud to have received the Bronze Award and we’re pleased that an independent panel of examiners saw the high value we place on quality care and service excellence,” said Elisabeth Woolf, Administrator at Fairview Commons, which is an affiliate of Berkshire Healthcare. “Our focus at Fairview Commons is always on people. We want to continue to evolve our quality care and service to even greater heights.”
“We congratulate the entire Fairview Commons team on this achievement,” added Bill Jones, President of Berkshire Healthcare. “It’s a great example of how we are advancing quality across our affiliates with more and more Berkshire facilities earning recognition for quality care.”
The National Quality Award Program, established by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, 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.
The Award Program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Providers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision, mission statement, and key strengths and challenges. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system. Trained Examiners review each Bronze application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As a recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award, Fairview Commons may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award criteria.
“I applaud Fairview Commons for taking this important step towards quality improvement,” said the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers Chair Alana Wolfe. “I encourage Fairview Commons to continue on its path to achieving the highest of quality care.”
The awards will be presented during AHCA/NCAL’s 70th Convention & Expo in Orlando, Florida, October 13-16, 2019.
About Berkshire Healthcare Systems
Fairview Commons is operated by Berkshire Healthcare (BHCS), a national leader among not-for-profit, post-acute care organizations in Massachusetts. BHCS owns or operates 15 rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities in Massachusetts; Kimball Farms, a life care, continuing care retirement community in Lenox, Mass.; Day Brook Village Continuing Care Retirement Community in Holyoke; Linda Manor Assisted Living in Northampton; and HospiceCare in The Berkshires and Hospice of Franklin County (Greenfield) for those with life-limiting illnesses. Berkshire Healthcare’s skilled nursing centers provide around-the-clock nursing care and patient-centered rehabilitation services, short-term rehabilitation, and post-acute and long-term care. Other affiliates include IntegriNurse, which specializes in nursing placement at BHCS facilities; and IntegriScript, BHCS’ institutional pharmacy.
Berkshire Healthcare is managed by an affiliate of Berkshire Health Systems, the leading provider of comprehensive health care services in the Berkshires. For more information visit www.berkshirehealthcare.org.
About AHCA/NCAL
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 13,700 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.