Avalon Assisted Living receives prestigious national quality award

Avalon Assisted Living at Bridgewater was recognized by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) as one of only four NCAL members in the country to receive this prestigious national quality award.

The Avalon met or exceeded all four of the quality benchmarks for the AHCA/NCAL's Quality Initiative. The Quality Initiative aims to further improve the lives of individuals by setting specific goals in the four key areas:

• Safely reduce hospital readmissions within the first 30 days by 15 percent
• Increase staff stability by maintaining nursing staff turnover rates below 30 percent
• Increase the percentage of customers who would recommend their community at or above 90 percent
• Safely reduce the off-label use of antipsychotics among community residents by 15 percent

"The criteria are heavily nursing related, therefore I credit this recognition to Linda Wilton, RNC, Director of Nursing, our nurses, and nursing aides for their commitment to quality care for our residents!" said Tom Rotella, Executive Director of the Avalon at Bridgewater.

Linda Wilton, RNC, Director of Nursing, said "I am very proud of our staff. Our hard work and attention to detail enable us to provide exceptional care and avoid hospital readmissions. We are excited to earn this amazing award on a national level recognizing our efforts. A special thanks to Debbie Lefkus, RN for her diligence in resident follow up to ensure quality care."

The Avalon at Bridgewater, as well as other achievers from across the country, were honored at AHCA/NCAL's Quality Symposium, which took place February 23-25, 2015, in Austin, Texas.