Berman Commons Executive Director Rhett Scricle (left) and The Cohen Home Executive Director Cheryl Chambers (right) accept the Bronze Award at Georgia Senior Living Association’s annual conference.
Jewish HomeLife’s two assisted living communities, Berman Commons and The Cohen Home, have each earned the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) 2019 Bronze National Quality Award. The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award has been designed as a progressive three-step process to encourage the continuous learning and development of integrated quality systems to achieve performance excellence. Each progressive step requires a more detailed and comprehensive demonstration of quality integration and performance.
The program is based on the core values and criteria of the nationally recognized Baldrige Performance Excellence Program which helps organizations “evaluate performance, assess where improvements or innovation are most needed, and get results.” To be considered for this awards program, which is progressive in nature, communities must complete an exhaustive application that demonstrates their performance improvement system and its success. Each level (Bronze—Commitment to Quality; Silver—Achievement in Quality; or Gold—Excellence in Quality) has its own distinct standards and rigorous requirements for quality and performance excellence. Highly trained examiners strictly analyze each community’s application with very few ultimately meeting the standard. Those who do not continue progressing in the time frame allotted for each category lose the designation and have to re-apply.
“We are so pleased that Berman Commons and The Cohen Home are being recognized for the high quality care we provide for our residents,” said President & CEO Harley Tabak. Beaming with pride for her team earning this award for the first time, Cohen Home Executive Director Cheryl Chambers added “We give our residents care that no one else can compete with.”
Berman Commons Executive Director Rhett Scircle also added “Working in an organization with such a strong commitment to those in our care makes me proud to be part of the Jewish HomeLife family.”
How Prestigious is the AHCA Quality Award?
In Georgia, only 20 assisted living communities (AL) have earned Bronze or Silver quality awards through this nationally recognized program.* The other 130 award recipients located in Georgia are skilled nursing facilities, including our own William Breman Jewish Home.
Only 12 AL communities in Georgia have earned the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award. Additionally, Berman Commons and The Cohen Home are the only 2 AL communities in Atlanta achieving this level.
Earning the Bronze Award is the prerequisite for applying for the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award. Only 7 AL communities in Georgia have earned this designation. Interestingly, only 2 AL communities in the entire country have earned the Gold Award.
*source: www.ahcancal.org