There is a growing need for aging services that people can trust.  With the aging services field under close scrutiny, it is more important than ever to show the public, government and media that we’re doing the right thing.

Quality First is part of our quality improvement plan.  It is our way to achieve excellence and earn public trust.  But the question is often “what is Quality?”

For more than a year, we at Peter Becker Community have been learning about Quality First.  Our organization first signed the covenant in 2004, but not much was done about it then.    The Covenant states that we have a special stewardship responsibility to maintain:

Continuous Quality Improvement
1. Public Disclosure and Accountability
2. Consumer and Family Rights
3. Workforce Excellence
4. Community Involvement
5. Ethical Practices, and
6. Financial Integrity

So now we are calling Quality First our journey to excellence.  We have completed the self study as outline by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and reviewed the ten steps of Quality First.  These are:

1. Commitment
2. Governance and Accountability
3. Leading Edge Care and Services
4. Community Involvement
5. Continuous Quality Improvement
6. Human Resources Development
7. Consumer Friendly Information
8. Consumer Participation
9. Research Findings and Education
10. Public Trust and Consumer Confidence

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We will be establishing a Quality First Committee made up of staff and residents working together to review all of the steps of Quality First.  We’ll plan to improve – constantly.  We’ll keep you informed of our progress.

For more information on Quality First visit www.aahsa.org/qualityfirst .