 |
| Contributed Photo Melissa Graham, Maine Veterans’ Home Caribou administrator, received the Bronze Award for Outstanding Quality Care in Oct. 2012 from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living for the home’s commitment to excellence in long-term care. |
Melissa Graham, administrator at Maine Veterans’ Home in Caribou, recently served as a senior examiner, reviewing national long-term care Quality Award applications for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living. Graham was selected as a senior examiner this year because of her extensive experience and expertise focused on quality programs.
As administrator of the Caribou home, Graham helped prepare the home’s 2012 winning Quality Award application. The National Quality Award Program honors facilities across the nation that demonstrate their commitment to quality improvement. Graham and the Caribou home were one of four facilities in Maine to win the 2012 award.
“Just like when we submitted our application, the amount of detailed information required to compete for this award takes a great deal of effort and resources to consolidate and review,” said Graham. “As a senior examiner, it was a unique experience to be on the other side of the process this year and I am honored for the opportunity to participate.”
Graham was notified of her selection in January and was then teamed up with three other examiners from across the country. The team was given five applications from long-term care facilities and conducted extensive weekly conference calls to review the information provided in the applications. The team met in June for three days in Atlanta to finalize their reviews.
“A benefit from this experience for Maine Veterans’ Homes is that I was always thinking about how certain elements I was reviewing could tie into Caribou’s quality improvement program as we are invested in quality care for our veterans,” said Graham. “This will also help us prepare to apply for the next level of AHCA/NCAL’s award program called the Silver Award.”
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.
