Extendicare Announces Eight Silver and Twelve Bronze AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Winning Centers in 2014

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN--(Marketwired - July 7, 2014) - Extendicare Health Services, Inc. is proud to announce they received eight Silver - Achievement in Quality awards, and twelve Bronze - Commitment to Quality awards presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), in recognition of outstanding performance in the health care profession.

The eight health centers to receive the Silver National Quality Award include the following: Cornell Area Care Center, Ivy Court, Lake Country Health and Rehabilitation, Meadow View Manor Nursing Home, Sequim Health and Rehabilitation, Tendercare Greenview, Weyauwega Health Care Center, and Willowcrest Care Center. These centers are eight of only 77 centers to receive this prestigious award nationally this year, and are now among the 393 centers across the nation to have been awarded this achievement since the program's inception.

The twelve health centers receiving the Bronze National Quality Award include the following: Arbors at Fairlawn, Forest Ridge, Langhorne Gardens, Maple Ridge, Michiana Health and Rehab, North Auburn, Parkview Nursing, Rockmill Rehabilitation, Statesman Health and Rehabilitation, Tendercare Clare, Tendercare of Ludington and Tendercare Health Center of Holland. These centers join the 392 post-acute care centers nationwide to receive this noteworthy award in 2014.

"Amidst many changes in our health care and regulatory environment, these centers have remained committed to prioritizing quality care above all else. Receiving a Quality Award is a benchmark of great distinction in our quest to provide clinical care and services that achieve the best possible results for our patients, team members and partners alike. We are very proud of this accomplishment and thank our entire team at each of these centers for their constant dedication to helping people live better," said Tim Lukenda, Chairman and CEO of Extendicare Health Services, Inc.

The AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards - comprised of three levels, Bronze - Commitment to Quality award; a more rigorous Silver - Achievement in Quality award; and a comprehensive Gold - Excellence in Quality award - are an independently judged, criteria-based, award program considered to be the most prestigious recognition of quality within the long-term and post-acute care profession. Applicants for the awards must demonstrate a level of quality achievement through good performance outcomes that have evolved from the ability to embrace the core values and concepts of visionary leadership, a focus on the future, and resident-focused excellence. A team of trained examiners reviews each Quality Award application and determines recipients based on a set of rigorous criteria.

"These centers have not only successfully applied the criteria of the National Quality Award program, but have demonstrated a true commitment for improving lives through quality care," said Ed McMahon, Ph.D., Chair of the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers. "I applaud and encourage this year's recipients to continue their quality journeys."

Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and is designed to support both continuous quality improvement efforts in long-term care by promoting quality awareness and education and recognizing quality achievements.

About Extendicare

Extendicare Health Services, Inc. located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a wholly owned subsidiary of Extendicare Inc., a leading North American provider of post-acute and longer-term care services. Through its network of owned and operated health care centers, Extendicare's qualified and experienced workforce is dedicated to helping people live better through a commitment to quality service that includes skilled nursing care, rehabilitative therapies and home health care services.