July 20, 2009

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Cheri Tollefson Lehse
Director of Communications and Marketing
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St. Benedict’s Senior Community receives national recognition for quality improvement

St. Cloud, Minn. – St. Benedict’s Senior Community has been recognized as one of the 2009 recipients of the Step I National Quality Award presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

This year, 664 nursing and assisted living facilities from across the nation applied for the award. St. Benedict’s Senior Community was one of 435 facilities to receive the award. Awards will be presented during AHCA/NCAL’s 60th Annual Convention and Exposition on Oct. 4-7 in Chicago, Ill.

“We applaud St. Benedict’s Senior Community for having passed this first step that demonstrates their intention to begin a rigorous quality improvement program, and look forward to their moving forward to pursue the requirements for the Steps II and III awards in the coming years,” said Bernie Dana, chair, AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers.

“This award is fabulous recognition for the high-quality care St. Benedict’s Care Center’s staff provides our residents every day,” said Christine Bakke, Care Center Administrator at
St. Benedict’s Senior Community. “We pride ourselves in continually looking for ways to improve the lives of the people we serve.”

Applicants for the Step I award have a clear vision and mission for their facility and acknowledge key challenges that are embodied in the organizational profile section of the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award. The Step I award recognizes providers that have developed a foundation to begin a journey of continuous quality improvement.

AHCA/NCAL is a trade organization with approximately 11,000 members. Since 1996, AHCA/NCAL has used the concepts of the Baldrige award as the basis for its three-step program for the long-term care profession. At the Step I level, applications are reviewed by examiners who have received special training to qualify as judges for the award program.

The awards are sponsored by AHCA/NCAL Associate Business Member McKesson Medical-Surgical, a leading distributor of medical supplies and equipment to physician practices, surgery centers, hospitals, home care, and extended care facilities, and My InnerView, a Web-based applied research and quality-management company that supports leaders across the entire assisted living, senior housing and skilled nursing profession with tools to measure, benchmark and improve performance.

Learn more about St. Benedict’s Senior Community - St. Cloud

Learn more about St. Benedict’s Senior Community - Monticello

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