(Upper Sandusky) – Fairhaven healthcare community owned and operated by United Church Homes has been recognized as a 2014 recipient of the “Bronze Commitment to Quality” award for their dedication to improving the lives of residents through dependable quality care.

The award is one of three distinctions possible through the National Quality Award program, presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The program honors communities across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality care for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Based in Marion, Ohio, United Church Homes is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality housing and healthcare services to seniors, responsive to the needs of the whole person, and based on Christian values.

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. The program assists providers of long term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

Communities begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision and mission statements and an assessment of customers’ expectations. Bronze award winners must demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system, as determined by a team of trained examiners. As recipients of the “Bronze Commitment to Quality” award, Four Winds, Fairhaven, Trinity Community at Fairborn (formerly Patriot Ridge), Parkvue and Chapel Hill communities may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the “Silver Achievement in Quality” award, as their predecessors, SEM Haven and Trinity communities, are now doing.

President and CEO, Rev. Ken Daniel, says, “United Church Homes celebrates the shared commitment of doing what is right, and focusing on the needs of our residents. These communities exemplify the mission of our organization with their dedication to positive outcomes.”

The award will be presented to these United Church Homes communities during AHCA/NCAL’s 65th Annual Convention and Exposition, October 5-8, 2014, in Washington, D.C.