Two United Church Homes healthcare communities — Chapel Hill in Canal Fulton, Ohio, and SEM Haven, a UCH managed community in Milford, Ohio — have been recognized as 2015 recipients of the Silver Quality Award for their outstanding performance in delivering healthcare services to residents.

The Silver Quality Award is awarded through the National Quality Award program, presented by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The program honors communities that have documented and demonstrated best practices in providing quality care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

First instituted in 1996 by AHCA/NCAL, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The program assists providers of long-term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

The program has three levels — Bronze, Silver and Gold. Communities begin the process at the Bronze level, and must qualify for an award at each level before moving on to the next tier. Last year, all of United Church Homes’ long-term care communities earned the Bronze Quality Award.

Silver Quality Award winners are required to demonstrate their ability to make systematic advancements in quality, plans for continual improvement and sustainable organizational goals.

As recipients of the Silver Quality Award, both Chapel Hill and SEM Haven communities may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the Gold Excellence in Quality award.

“The Silver Quality Award represents a high mark of achievement to support the integrity of our communities,” said Rev. Kenneth Daniel, president and CEO. “This level of distinction is only awarded to those who are committed to excellence, from planning to execution. We celebrate the significant success of our Chapel Hill and SEM Haven teams.”

In any one year, the Silver Quality Award is earned by less than one percent of long-term care communities, as evidenced by the fact that this year only 128 providers earned this designation in the entire nation, including 11 in Ohio. Chapel Hill and SEM Haven will be recognized during AHCA/NCAL’s 66th Annual Convention and Exposition, October 4–7, 2015, in San Antonio, Texas.