Quality First
Three of the nation’s largest long-term care organizations, together representing the overwhelming majority of the country’s 17,000 nursing centers, as well as several thousand senior housing, assisted living and community services providers, joined together to launch a quality initiative called “Quality First: A Covenant for Healthy, Affordable, and Ethical Long Term Care” that calls on all long-term care providers to make a voluntary, organization-wide commitment to performance excellence.
The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care and affiliated providers have committed to the seven principles which are embodied in Quality First.
- Continuous Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement
- Public Disclosure and Accountability
- Patient/Family Rights
- Workforce Excellence
- Public Input and Community Involvement
- Ethical Practices
- Financial Stewardship
Based on the seven principles, the Quality First Pledge and Code of Conduct outline specific and measurable steps that companies must take to improve quality outcomes in nursing facilities over time. As Quality First Pledge signatories, companies must commit to implementing each element of the Pledge and must continuously work toward achieving or improving upon the elements laid out in the Code of Conduct.
In complying with the principles of the Pledge, SunBridge has committed to making information about its quality outcomes available to the public, with the goal that a better–informed public will make better decisions about long term care services and provide a market–driven incentive to quality care.