Extendicare Announces Six Silver and Thirteen Bronze AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Winning Centers in 2013

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN--(Marketwired - July 12, 2013) - Extendicare Health Services, Inc. is proud to announce they received six Silver - Achievement in Quality awards, and thirteen 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 six health centers to receive the Silver National Quality Award include: Clarview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Galtier Health Center, Maison Aine, Wausau Manor, Willowfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Woodsfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. These centers are six of only 59 centers to receive this prestigious award this year, joining the only 315 across the nation to have been awarded this achievement since the program's inception.

The thirteen health centers receiving the Bronze National Quality Award include: Arbors at New Castle Subacute and Rehabilitation Center; Meadow View Health and Rehabilitation Center, Professional Care Rehabilitation, Tendercare Greenview, Rose of Sharon Manor, Care Center East, Beaver Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Elkins Crest, Spruce Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Fir Lane Health and Rehabilitation, Lake Country Health and Rehabilitation Center, Mercy Residential and Rehabilitation Center, and Willowcrest Care Center. These centers join the 357 post-acute care centers nationwide to receive this noteworthy award in 2013.

"These awards are a benchmark of distinction in our quest to provide high quality care and evidence of the staff commitment and successful leadership at these 19 centers. 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, President 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.

"In an age of changing health care, these centers have remained committed to prioritizing quality care above all else," said Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. "Each of these centers is an example of the great things that can be accomplished when we commit to person-centered care."

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 of 35,600 individuals 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. Our 247 senior care centers in North America have capacity for approximately 27,100 residents.