Making Quality a Priority
With CMS' increasing focus and requirements to states to develop measurable, outcomes based quality measures; increasing money-follow the person funding allocations; and the changing landscape of consumer-directed supports and services, ANCOR took a proactive step in the development of a comprehensive Performance Excellence Initiative beginning in 2004.
This multi-faceted initiative connects providers to resources, technical assistance, national performance metrics benchmarks and online discussion groups focusing on quality enhancement and measurement both within and outside of the provider community. The three main components of ANCOR's Performance Excellence Initiative include:
Values Statement
As a sign of our commitment to quality, ANCOR asked CEOs to voluntarily sign the "Principles, Standards, and Quality Pledge," committing themselves to continuous quality improvement and enhancement. To date, 90% of ANCOR members have signed this document and proudly display the pledge throughout their agency.
Performance Excellence Quality Markers Framework
To help ANCOR members understand the components of a quality organization, ANCOR has devised the Performance Excellence Framework. This framework identifies areas such as Customer and Market Focus, Business Results, Human Resources, and other areas that agencies can find consultants, books, and additional resources that will assist with their continual improvement. In the future, industry models of practice will be included in this framework so providers can see what steps other agencies have taken to improve quality and consider replicating them in their own agency.
Complementing the Performance Excellence Framework is the dynamic on-line Communities of Practice (CoP), cosponsored and hosted by ASQ. This interactive website contains discussion boards where ANCOR members can ask questions related to individual markers and innovative service delivery models from both providers and quality specialists worldwide. By logging on to the CoP, ANCOR members will be connected to a much larger knowledge and resource base than they ever imagined!
Performance Metrics Benchmark Pilot
A major challenge to measuring performance excellence and establishing national benchmarks for community-based services for people with developmental disabilities is the lack of a common taxonomy in identifying and defining performance excellence factors. To that end, ANCOR, in partnership with DEYTA, a national statistical research firm, has embarked on a national effort to commonly define and measure quality performance factors.
The main objective of this project is to obtain statistically valid and reliable information for the provider industry in these key areas:
- DSPs
- DSP Retention Rate
- DSP Turnover Rate
- DSP Vacancy Rate
- DSP Stability Rate
- Customer Satisfaction and Choice
- Medication Errors
- Mortality Rate
- Preventative Healthcare
- Substantiated Instances of Abuse and/or Neglect
With national benchmarking data, providers will be able to compare how they are doing with organizations of similar size, scope, and services. Opportunities to highlight best practices will further be available resulting in the provider community learning from one another as to how they can best support individuals with disabilities in the community.
To participate in this project, contact Kari Amidon at kamidon@ancor.org
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