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QUALITY INITIATIVES

The AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Program

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is a rigorous three-level process that evaluates long term care organizations capabilities against nationally recognized standards for excellence, making it one of the most comprehensive and cost-effective performance assessments available to providers. 

Award Levels

Member centers may apply for three progressive levels of awards: Bronze—Commitment to Quality, Silver—Achievement in Quality, or Gold—Excellence in Quality. Each level has its own distinct rigors and requirements for quality and performance excellence.

BRONZE COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

The first step in the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award.

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SILVER ACHIEVEMENT TO QUALITY

The second step in the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award.

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GOLD EXCELLENCE TO QUALITY

The final step in the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is the Gold – Excellence in Quality Award.

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Take The next step in Your Quality Improvement Journey

If you are new to the program or continuing​ your Quality Award journey, start the process in August. Don’t wait. Successful applications take time to prepare. Not sure where to begin?

Key Dates

  • August 2 – 2022 Quality Award Program year begins and applications available
  • September 16 – Intent to Apply (ITA) opens and Examiner applications available
  • ​October 12 – Quality Award Ceremony and Celebration
  • November 11 – ITA deadline
  • January 27, 2022 – Application Deadline
  • Summer 2022 – Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award Notifications​

2021 Silver Quality Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following member communities on receiving the 2021 Silver – Achievement in Quality – Award.

  • Bethany Village – Indianapolis
  • Riverwalk Village – Indianapolis

2021 Bronze Quality Award Recipients

Congratulations to the following member communities for receiving the 2021 Bronze – Commitment to Quality – Award:

  • Adams Heritage
  • enMotion Recovery Care
  • Heritage Woods of Noblesville
  • Manorcare Health Services – Indianapolis
  • Oasis at 56th
  • Signature HealthCARE – Bremen
  • Signature HealthCARE – Fort Wayne
  • Silver Birch of Cook Road
  • Silver Birch of Fort Wayne
  • Silver Birch of Kokomo
  • Silver Birch of Muncie

Register for Quality Awards Workshops - Complimentary for IHCA/INCAL Members

IHCA/INCAL in partnership with HCAM/MCAL and other state affiliates, presents a Bronze, Silver and Gold Quality Award virtual workshop series. These workshops will help you better understand how to complete the application from beginning to end with coaching support along the way from our expert trainers.

Registration for the Gold workshop series is now closed.

bronze workshop series Silver Workshop Series

Why Should Your Organization Apply?

Performance Improvement

The Program provides a proven framework that organizations can use to make improvements in any clinical, quality or other operational outcome area. 90 percent of applicants identify performance improvement as a main reason in applying for an award.

Superior Outcomes

Research shows that Silver and Gold recipients have superior performance in key quality outcome areas such as 30-day hospital readmission, off-label use of antipsychotics, Five-Star ratings, occupancy rate and operating margin.

Regulatory Demands

The Program criteria prepares providers for regulatory demands such as CMS’ Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement (QAPI) requirements and the Medicare and Medicaid Requirements of Participation (RoP).

Team Engagement

Bring your team together for one common goal.The application process serves as a team building activity to engage staff across all levels of your organization.

Esteemed Recognition

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award provides national, external validation of high quality care and services – the perfect information to share with your consumers, stakeholders and referral partners.

Renewal Policy

The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is pleased to announce the approval of an automatic one-year extension for recipients in their third year of renewal. This means that recipients in their third year of renewal in 2022, will have one more year (2023) to remain active and apply at the next award level. There is no action needed to receive the extension.

If an active recipient in their third year would like to participate in the 2022 award cycle, they can do so. In this case, please make sure to visit our website to start the 2022 application and learn more about the latest updates to the program.

To learn more about the Renewal Policy, visit the National Quality Award website.

Want to learn more?

Contact Katie Niehoff at kniehoff@ihca.org.

Email Katie