SEARHC to receive Awards for Sitka and Wrangell Facilities

SouthEast Alaska Regional Healthcare Consortium's (SEARHC) Sitka Long-Term Care (SLTC) and Wrangell Medical Center Long-Term Care (WMC LTC) will be presented with a trio of quality awards this month from Mountain Pacific Quality Health's (MPQH).  SEARHC will be awarded "Gold Pans" during the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association annual conference on Sept. 26 in Girdwood, Alaska, with STLC tabbed as a recipient for the Quality Achievement Award and WMC LTC receiving both the Quality Excellence Award and the Most Improved Award.

Having met MPQH composite score requirements between one and six times in 2018, SLTC is set to receive the Quality Achievement Award.  As a facility that met the composite score requirements between seven and 12 times in 2018, WMC will be honored with the Quality Excellence Award.  In addition, as the nursing home with the greatest reduction in rate on their overall composite score, WMC will also be awarded the Most Improved Gold Pan for the second year in a row.  Both STLC and WMC LTC were recipients of the Quality Achievement Award for care provided in 2017.

"We have an extremely skilled and caring staff working hard to improve the lives of our residents," said Kay Turner, SLTC Administrator. "We are excited with this recognition as it demonstrates our commitment to each and every resident. We at STLC strive to meet our highest potential and ensure that our resident's needs, goals and preferences are met."

"These two awards are evidence of the commitment to exceptional quality service made by the WMC LTC staff," said SEARHC Vice President and WMC Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff.  "Our residents deserve the highest level of care possible and WMC staff has delivered in service worthy of the most prestigious Gold Pan.  And by being named Most Improved Nursing Home for the second year in a row, it's clear our LTC staff is making the effort to constantly improve in all areas of service." 

MPQH is a nonprofit corporation serving as a Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) under the direction of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  MPQH partners with health care providers, practitioners, stakeholders, and patients on a variety of quality improvement initiatives to achieve better care, better population health and lower health care costs.